Examples of the diel variability in chlorophyll are presented from data from moored in situ fluorometers and from profiles of beam attenuation coefficient plotted against fluorescence. The data are discussed in terms of the three primary processes thought to influence the diel variability: (1) fluorescence yield per unit chlorophyll a. (2) chlorophyll changes per cell (or, biomass), and (3) changes in phytoplankton biomass. A provisional model is presented which incorporates these three processes, and its shortcomings are discussed. Finally, the problem of incorporating diel variability in plankton models is considered. For the model given, it is found that there is no consistent set of parameters which describe the observed diel chlorophyll variability for pre-bloom and bloom conditions in the Northeast Atlantic (spring 1989).

Date Published: 31 December 1992
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 1750, Ocean Optics XI, (31 December 1992); doi: 10.1117/12.140654

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1750:
Ocean Optics XI
Gary D. Gilbert, Editor(s)