TY - JOUR
T1 - Inherent and Apparent Optical Properties of the Complex Estuarine Waters of Tampa Bay: What Controls Light?
AU - Le, Chengfeng
AU - Hu, Chuanmin
AU - English, David
AU - Cannizzaro, Jennifer
AU - Chen, Zhiqiang
AU - Kovach, Charles
AU - Anastasiou, Christopher J.
AU - Zhao, Jun
AU - Carder, Kendall L.
PY - 2013/1/1
Y1 - 2013/1/1
N2 - Inherent and apparent optical properties (IOPs and AOPs) of Tampa Bay (Florida, USA) were measured during fourteen cruises between February 1998 and October 2010 to understand how these properties relate to one another and what controls light absorption and diffuse attenuation in this moderately sized (∼1000 km 2 ), shallow estuary (average depth ∼4 m). The IOPs and AOPs included: 1) absorption coefficients of three optically significant constituents: phytoplankton pigments, detrital particles, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM); 2) particulate backscattering coefficients; 3) chlorophyll-a concentrations; 4) above-water remote sensing reflectance; 5) downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficients (Kd) at eight wavelengths and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Results showed substantial variability in all IOPs and AOPs in both space and time, with most IOPs spanning more than two orders of magnitude and showing strong co-variations. Of all four bay segments, Old Tampa Bay showed unique optical characteristics. During the wet season, the magnitude of blue–green-light absorption was dominated by CDOM, while during the dry season all three constituents contributed significantly. However, the variability in Kd (PAR, 490 nm, 555 nm) was driven mainly by the variability of detrital particles and phytoplankton as opposed to CDOM. This observation explained, at least to first order, why a nutrient reduction management strategy used by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program since the 1990s led to improved water clarity in most of Tampa Bay. The findings of this study provided the optical basis to fine tune existing or develop new algorithms to estimate the various optical water quality parameters from space.
AB - Inherent and apparent optical properties (IOPs and AOPs) of Tampa Bay (Florida, USA) were measured during fourteen cruises between February 1998 and October 2010 to understand how these properties relate to one another and what controls light absorption and diffuse attenuation in this moderately sized (∼1000 km 2 ), shallow estuary (average depth ∼4 m). The IOPs and AOPs included: 1) absorption coefficients of three optically significant constituents: phytoplankton pigments, detrital particles, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM); 2) particulate backscattering coefficients; 3) chlorophyll-a concentrations; 4) above-water remote sensing reflectance; 5) downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficients (Kd) at eight wavelengths and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Results showed substantial variability in all IOPs and AOPs in both space and time, with most IOPs spanning more than two orders of magnitude and showing strong co-variations. Of all four bay segments, Old Tampa Bay showed unique optical characteristics. During the wet season, the magnitude of blue–green-light absorption was dominated by CDOM, while during the dry season all three constituents contributed significantly. However, the variability in Kd (PAR, 490 nm, 555 nm) was driven mainly by the variability of detrital particles and phytoplankton as opposed to CDOM. This observation explained, at least to first order, why a nutrient reduction management strategy used by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program since the 1990s led to improved water clarity in most of Tampa Bay. The findings of this study provided the optical basis to fine tune existing or develop new algorithms to estimate the various optical water quality parameters from space.
KW - inherent optical properties
KW - apparent optical properties
KW - absorption
KW - scattering
KW - diffuse attenuation
KW - optical water quality
KW - remote sensing
KW - Tampa Bay
UR - https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1918
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2012.09.017
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecss.2012.09.017
DO - 10.1016/j.ecss.2012.09.017
M3 - Article
VL - 117
JO - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
JF - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
ER -