Satellite-Derived Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Coastal Waters
Summary
Chlorophyll fluorescence observed from space offers a window into the physiological state and biomass of coastal phytoplankton, overcoming many limitations of reflectance-based chlorophyll retrievals in optically complex waters. When sunlight excites chlorophyll molecules, a fraction of the absorbed energy is re-emitted as fluorescence, producing a characteristic peak near 685 nm. Satellite sensors equipped with spectral bands around this region can isolate the fluorescence signal from background reflectance, yielding maps of fluorescence line height (FLH) or related metrics. These measurements enable monitoring of phytoplankton productivity, detection of nascent algal blooms and assessment of nutrient limitation and light-stress in nearshore ecosystems. However, coastal waters pose unique challenges: variable suspended sediments, coloured dissolved organic matter and mixed phytoplankton communities all alter the apparent fluorescence signal. Advances in atmospheric correction, inversion of radiative transfer models and multi-algorithm fusion are now improving the accuracy and spatial resolution of fluorescence retrievals. Emerging geostationary sensors permit diurnal sampling of coastal embayments, while machine-learning approaches refine the discrimination of fluorescence from confounding signals. Together, these developments promise more reliable time-series of coastal primary production and ecosystem health indicators, with clear applications for water quality management, aquaculture monitoring and early warning of harmful blooms.
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Satellite-Derived Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Coastal Waters publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in satellite-derived chlorophyll fluorescence in coastal waters across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sun-induced fluorescence (SIF): The red-shifted emission of light by chlorophyll molecules following excitation by sunlight.
Fluorescence line height (FLH): A metric estimating fluorescence emission by comparing radiance at a fluorescence band with baseline spectral bands.
Remote-sensing reflectance: The ratio of water-leaving radiance to downwelling irradiance, used to infer constituent concentrations.
Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ): Dissipation of excess absorbed light energy as heat within pigment systems, reducing fluorescence yield.
Photochemical quenching (PQ): Use of absorbed light energy in photochemistry, modulating the strength of fluorescence emission.
References
- Remote sensing of sun-induced chlorophyll-a fluorescence in inland and coastal waters: Current state and future prospects. Remote Sensing of Environment (2021).
- Fluorescence Line Height Extraction Algorithm for the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager. Remote Sensing (2022).
- Uncertainties and applications of satellite-derived coastal water quality products. Progress In Oceanography (2017).
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