Seasonal dynamics of major phytoplankton functional types in the coastal waters of the west coast of Canada derived from OLCI Sentinel 3A

Monitoring the spatial distribution and seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) in coastal oceans is essential for understanding fisheries production, changes in water quality, and carbon export to the deep ocean. The launch of new generation ocean color sensors such as OLCI (Ocean Land Color Instrument) onboard Sentinel 3A provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the surface dynamics of PFTs at high spatial (300 m) and temporal (daily) resolution. Here we characterize the seasonal dynamics of the major PFTs over the surface waters of the west coast of Canada using OLCI imagery and Chemical Taxonomy (CHEMTAX, v1.95) software. The satellite-based approach was adapted from a previously proven Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF)-based algorithm by using a local matchup dataset comprising CHEMTAX model output and EOF scores derived from OLCI remote sensing reflectance. The algorithm was developed for the following PFTs: diatoms, dinoflagellates, dictyochophytes, haptophytes, green algae, cryptophytes, cyanobacteria, raphidophytes, and total chlorophyll-a (TChla) concentration. Of these PFTs, first level evaluation of the OLCI-derived retrievals showed reliable performance for diatoms and raphidophytes. The second level of validation showed that TChla had the best performance, and green algae, cryptophytes, and diatoms followed seasonal trends of a high temporal resolution in situ CHEMTAX time-series. Somewhat reduced correspondence was observed for raphidophytes. Due to their low contribution to the phytoplankton community (26%) and low range of variation, weak performance was noted for haptophytes, dictyochophytes, cyanobacteria, and dinoflagellates. The EOF-based PFT maps from daily OLCI imagery showed seasonal spring and fall diatom blooms with succession from spring blooms to high diversity flagellate dominated summer conditions. Furthermore, strong localized summer raphidophyte blooms (Heterosigma akashiwo) were observed, which are a regionally important harmful species. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of the OLCI in deriving the surface dynamics of major PFTs of the Strait of Georgia (SoG), a critical habitat for the juvenile Pacific Salmon.

Automated summary

Monitoring the spatial and seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton functional types in coastal oceans is important for understanding fisheries production, water quality changes, and carbon export. This study used OLCI imagery and CHEMTAX software to characterize the seasonal dynamics of major phytoplankton functional types on the west coast of Canada. The results showed reliable performance for diatoms and raphidophytes, and the best performance for total chlorophyll-a concentration. The study also observed spring and fall diatom blooms and localized summer raphidophyte blooms.