With all the variety of models used for calculation of primary production from remote sensing data, a choice of the most realistic one remains a non-trivial issue. The use of regional biological parameters additionally increases the degree of correspondence between a model and in-situ observations. In this work, we estimate primary production in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean in 1998-2005 using three frequently used models: Two models are based on the remotely measured chlorophyll-a concentration (VGPM and BIOM) and one on the remotely measured coefficient of light absorption by phytoplankton pigments (Aph-PP). The model results are further compared with in-situ observations of primary production in the area 20°-51° N and 10°-40° W. The primary production models use as the input level 3 Ocean Color data provided by the OC-CCI database (http://www.esa-oceancolour-cci.org). Photosynthetic model parameters are taken from experimental measurements of phytoplankton photosynthetic efficiency under different light conditions obtained for Northeast Atlantic phytoplankton species. The results show a close similarity in the patterns of primary production obtained by different models, although the absolute values in different models differ substantially. BIOM model is found to describe better the observed seasonal and spatial variability of the primary production in the Northeast Atlantic as compared to the two other models. However, in most of the cases BIOM slightly underestimates the production values. Use of regional photosynthetic parameters contributes to closer approximation of i n-situ observations by the models.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)114-126
Number of pages13
JournalSovremennye Problemy Distantsionnogo Zondirovaniya Zemli iz Kosmosa
Volume12
Issue number2
StatePublished - 2015

    Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Computers in Earth Sciences

    Research areas

  • Absorption coefficient of phytoplankton pigments, Chlorophyll-a, Models of primary production, Northeast Atlantic, Remote sensing

ID: 84276836