Satellite detection of seasonal and secular change of global ocean biome distributions
Andrew
J
Irwin, Mount Allison University, airwin@mta.ca
(Presenting)
Matt
J
Oliver, University of Delaware, moliver@udel.edu
Paul
G
Falkowski, Rutgers University, falko@imcs.rutgers.edu
Oscar
ME
Schofield, Rutgers University, oscar@imcs.rutgers.edu
Historically, the ecological concept of biome has been applied to static global ocean climatologies with the purpose of describing the basic biogeography of marine systems. However, because these biogeographical maps are not time-resolved, the seasonal and secular changes in ocean biome distribution have been missed. In this work, we use a biome classification technique based on time-resolved satellite imagery to detect seasonal and secular changes in global ocean biome distributions. This technique has been independently validated with in situ data. We find strong seasonal signals in biome distributions in all areas of the global ocean and find secular trends in the area of certain ocean biomes. For example, our analysis suggests the most oligotrophic biomes in the global ocean may be increasing in size. Understanding the long-term secular trends in ocean biomes has implications for the future of global ocean primary production. In addition, we analyze the tempo-spatial variability of biomes to identify the most variable regions of the global ocean.
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