Determination of Bio-optical Provinces in the North Atlantic Ocean: A Collaboration between JGOFS and WOCE

* 9618722马拉 WOCE水文计划（WHP）的最后一系列巡航将于1997年夏季开始在北大西洋进行。就日本全球海洋观测系统而言，与世界水文计划的合作是进行二氧化碳调查，以及生物光学和色素调查，以便获得关于上层海洋特性的空间广泛的数据集。对于WHP剖面A20（从大浅滩到特立尼达大约沿着55 W），将以不超过100 km的站间距收集近地表沃茨的生物光学（光谱辐照度、荧光、光束衰减、叶绿素a）和物理（温度、盐度）特性数据。 这项观测计划的目的是确定北大西洋西部所描述的地球化学区是否具有大光学基础。各省的描述依赖于水流、水柱稳定性、温度、与陆地的距离等，但只是半定量的。要检验的假设是这些省是否存在大光学意义上的，零假设是，有没有大光学差异沿着样带以外的区别情况1和情况2沃茨。 由于巡航将在夏季进行，表面温差最小，因此收集的数据将是对备择假设（生物光学区存在）的更有力的检验。 一旦整理和组织，数据将通过万维网提供给所有调查人员。 如果能够证明生物地球化学区是以大光学实体的形式存在的，就可以更精确地从卫星图像计算初级生产量，而且也证明有助于根据浮游生物生态对海洋区域进行分类。因此，生物地球化学区是研究浮游生物过程的机械基础的一种手段。预计WHP巡航将在新的海洋颜色传感器SeaW iFS发射（现定于1997年2月）之后进行，因此，这一观测方案可能有助于为卫星数据提供海洋实况。

*** 9618722 Marra The last series of WOCE Hydrographic Program (WHP) cruises will begin the North Atlantic in summer, 1997. For JGOFS, the collaboration with the WHP has been for a CO2 survey, and for bio-optics and pigments, in order to obtain a spatially extensive data set on upper ocean properties. For the WHP section A20 (roughly along 55 W from the Grand Banks to Trinidad), data on bio-optical (spectral irradiance, fluorescence, beam attenuation, chlorophyll-a) and physical (temperature, salinity) properties in near- surface waters will be collected at a station spacing of no more than 100 km. The objective of this observational program is to determine whether the biogeochemical provinces that have been described for the western North Atlantic have a big-optical basis. The descriptions of the provinces rely on currents, water-column stability, temperature, proximity to land, etc., but are only semi-quantitative. The hypothesis to be tested is whether these provinces exist in a big-optical sense, the null hypothesis being that there are no big-optical differences along the transect beyond the distinction of Case- 1 and Case-2 waters. Since the cruise will occur in summer, with surface temperature differences at a minimum, the data collected will be a stronger test of the alternative hypothesis (that bio- optical provinces exist) than otherwise. Once collated and organized, the data will be made available to all investigators via the World-Wide Web. If biogeochemical provinces can be shown to exist as big-optical entities, it will allow greater precision in the calculation of primary production from satellite imagery, and also prove useful in helping to classify ocean areas with respect to their plankton ecology. Biogeochemical provinces are thus a means or organizing the study of the mechanistic basis of plankton processes. It is expected that the WHP cruises will occur after the launch (now scheduled for February, 1997) of the new ocean color sensor, SeaW iFS, and thus this observational program may assist in providing sea-truth for the satellite data.