Investigation of Optical Properties and Photoadaptation During EqPAC JGOFS Cruises

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This study will characterize relationships between remotely sensed ocean color and the vertical profiles of bio-optical variables and primary productivity - and their interannual and seasonal variabilities - to address central goals of the U.S. JGOFS Equatorial Pacific Plan. It is hypothesized that photoadaptation by phytoplankton creates vertical profiles of pigments and optical profiles which, in a given geographic province and time of year, are predictable functions of near- surface optical properties estimable from remotely sensed ocean color. It is further speculated that the joint profiles of natural and stimulated fluorescence and optical properties are photoadaptive characteristics which may correlate with primary productivity. Optical and fluorescence (natural and stimulated) measurements will be acquired during the JGOFS EqPac cruises, which in combination with core measurements of pigments and productivity, will be used to develop empirical models of these relationships. These results will enable pigment biomass and productivity analyses of past (CZCS) and future (SeaWiFS) ocean color data, as well as contributing to the assessment of regional biogeochemical processes in the context of the overall JGOFS EqPac data set.