Temporal variability of 10-year global SeaWiFS time-series of phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentration

Abstract

The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) global dataset now offers a 10-year time-series of a consistent, well-calibrated, ocean colour record suitable to analyse temporal variability. The relative importance of the seasonal term in the chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration signal is first assessed using statistical techniques of temporal decomposition. The emphasis is on the Census method II (X-11) approach, which allows year-to-year variations in the seasonal component. The seasonality detected in the SeaWiFS Chl a record is analysed through a generic province-based classification of marine ecosystems and at global scale and is found very variable spatially. Working with 5′-resolution gridded Chl a products, the contribution of the seasonal component derived from X-11 amounts to 64% of the total variance, compared with only 36% if a fixed annual cycle is assumed. The capacity of X-11 to capture interannual variations in seasonality is used to diagnose the stability of the Chl a seasonal cycle. Finally, linear changes in Chl a concentration observed after a decade of continuous ocean colour record agree globally with previous observations on shorter series. Significant changes of both signs are detected in various regions of the world's oceans, but primarily a general decrease of Chl a in the mid-ocean gyres. © 2009 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved.