Error-quantified, synoptic-scale relationships between chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and phytoplankton pigment groups at the sea surface are presented. A total of ten pigment groups were considered to represent three Phytoplankton Size Classes (PSCs, micro-, nano- and picoplankton) and seven Phytoplankton Functional Types (PFTs, i.e. diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, prymnesiophytes (haptophytes), pico-eukaryotes, prokaryotes and Prochlorococcus sp.). The observed relationships between Chl-a and PSCs/PFTs were well-defined at the global scale to show that a community shift of phytoplankton at the basin and global scales is reflected by a change in Chl-a of the total community. Thus, Chl-a of the total community can be used as an index of not only phytoplankton biomass but also of their community structure. Within these relationships, we also found non-monotonic variations with Chl-a for certain pico-sized phytoplankton (pico-eukaryotes, Prokaryotes and Prochlorococcus sp.) and nano-sized phytoplankton (Green algae, prymnesiophytes). The relationships were quantified with a least-square fitting approach in order to enable an estimation of the PFTs from Chl-a where PFTs are expressed as a percentage of the total Chl-a. The estimated uncertainty of the relationships depends on both PFT and Chl-a concentration. Maximum uncertainty of 31.8% was found for diatoms at Chl-a = 0.49 mg m⁻³. However, the mean uncertainty of the relationships over all PFTs was 5.9% over the entire Chl-a range observed in situ (0.02 < Chl-a < 4.26 mg m⁻³). The relationships were applied to SeaWiFS satellite Chl-a data from 1998 to 2009 to show the global climatological fields of the surface distribution of PFTs. Results show that microplankton are present in the mid and high latitudes, constituting only ~10.9% of the entire phytoplankton community in the mean field for 1998–2009, in which diatoms explain ~7.5%. Nanoplankton are ubiquitous throughout the global surface oceans, except the subtropical gyres, constituting ~45.5%, of which prymnesiophytes (haptophytes) are the major group explaining ~31.7% while green algae contribute ~13.9%. Picoplankton are dominant in the subtropical gyres, but constitute ~43.6% globally, of which prokaryotes are the major group explaining ~26.5% (Prochlorococcus sp. explaining 22.8%), while pico-eukaryotes explain ~17.2% and are relatively abundant in the South Pacific. These results may be of use to evaluate global marine ecosystem models.

Diatoms are the major marine primary producers on the global scale and, recently, several methods have been developed to retrieve their abundance or dominance from satellite remote sensing data. In this work, we highlight the importance of the Southern Ocean (SO) in developing a global algorithm for diatom using an Abundance Based Approach (ABA). A large global in situ data set of phytoplankton pigments was compiled, particularly with more samples collected in the SO. We revised the ABA to take account of the information on the penetration depth (Z_pd) and to improve the relationship between diatoms and total chlorophyll-a (TChla). The results showed that there is a distinct relationship between diatoms and TChla in the SO, and a new global model (ABA_Zpd) improved the estimation of diatoms abundance by 28% in the SO compared with the original ABA model. In addition, we developed a regional model for the SO which further improved the retrieval of diatoms by 17% compared with the global ABA_Zpd model. As a result, we found that diatom may be more abundant in the SO than previously thought. Linear trend analysis of diatom abundance using the regional model for the SO showed that there are statistically significant trends, both increasing and decreasing, in diatom abundance over the past eleven years in the region.

Error-quantified, synoptic-scale relationships between chlorophyll-a (Chla) and phytoplankton pigment groups at the sea surface are presented. A total of nine pigment groups were considered to represent nine phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) including microplankton, nanoplankton, picoplankton, diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, picoeukaryotes, prokaryotes and Prochlorococcus sp. The observed relationships between Chla and pigment groups were well-defined at the global scale to show that Chla can be used as an index of not only phytoplankton abundance but also community structure; large (micro) phytoplankton monotonically increase as Chla increases, whereas the small (pico) phytoplankton community generally decreases. Within these relationships, we also found non-monotonic variations with Chla for certain pico-plankton (pico-eukaryotes, Prokaryotes and Prochlorococcus sp.) and for Green Algae and nano-sized phytoplankton. The relationships were quantified with a least-square fitting approach in order to estimate the PFTs from Chla alone. The estimated uncertainty of the relationships quantified depends on both phytoplankton types and Chla concentration. Maximum uncertainty over all groups (34.7% Chla) was found from diatom at approximately Chla = 1.07 mg m−3. However, the mean uncertainty of the relationships over all groups was 5.8 [% Chla] over the entire Chla range observed (0.02 < Chla < 6.84 mg m−3). The relationships were applied to SeaWiFS satellite Chla data from 1998 to 2009 to show the global climatological fields of the surface distribution of PFTs. Results show that microplankton are present in the mid and high latitudes, constituting ~9.0 [% Chla] of the phytoplankton community at the global surface, in which diatoms explain ~6.0 [% Chla]. Nanoplankton are ubiquious throught much of the global surface oceans except subtropical gyres, acting as a background population, constituting ~44.2 [% Chla]. Picoplankton are mostly limited in subtropical gyres, constituting ~46.8 [% Chla] globally, in which prokaryotes are the major species explaining 32.3 [% Chla] (prochlorococcus sp. explaining 21.5 [% Chla]), while pico-eukaryotes are notably abundant in the Southern Pacific explaining ~14.5 [% Chla]. These results may be used to constrain or validate global marine ecosystem models.

To evaluate the group-specific primary production of diatoms, haptophytes, and cyanobacteria in the Kuroshio region, a novel satellite observation methodology using the SeaStar/SeaWiFS satellite instrument was developed. The method used bio-optical relationships between the group-specific production and bio-optical properties such as the photosynthetic quantum yield and chlorophyll a specific optical absorption coefficient of phytoplankton, the last two of which were also estimated together with the group-specific production rather than assumed a priori. A global property of the absorption coefficient of phytoplankton, that the coefficient value at the wavelength of 510 nm was close to their spectral average, was highlighted in the method for a use of multi-spectral ocean color satellite data. Our results showed that the derived quantum yield index was higher for diatoms than haptophytes and cyanobacteria. Furthermore, intraspecific variation in the index, emerged as a latitudinal gradient: the values for cyanobacteria increased towards the higher latitudes. The group-specific primary production in the Kuroshio region showed that the climatological average of 134, 72 and 40 mg C m⁻² day⁻¹ for diatoms, haptophytes, and cyanobacteria, respectively. A comparison among variability of the group-specific primary production, the quantum yield index, and the absorption coefficient suggested that, in the Kuroshio region, the primary production due to diatoms was driven by their abundance through the year, whereas that due to cyanobacteria by photophysiology. The production due to haptophytes was seasonally regulated by both abundance and photophysiology.