Features of Empirical Bio-Optical Algorithms for Estimating Chlorophyll-a Concen tration from Satellite Ocean Color Data in Waters around the Antarctic Peninsula

The features of the empirical bio-optical algorithm operation in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula are analyzed based on a comparison of calibrated data from the shipborne flow fluorimeter and satellite data from the OLCI radiometer on Senti nel-3A and Sentinel-3B satellites during the Antarctic summers of January-February 2020 and 2022. It is shown that the standard OC4 bio-optical algorithm significantly underestimates satellite estimates of Chl-a concentration from ~1.5 to ~9 times (on aver age by a factor of ~3.1). The known regional OC4-SO algorithm provides acceptable errors of Chl-a concentration estimates and can be used for studies related to the analysis of Chl-a concentration in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. The developed in this work new regional algorithm OC4-AP has significantly lower error in comparison with the known standard and regional algorithms. It can be used if it is necessary to obtain a remote estimate of the concentration of Chl-a, as close as possible to the accumulated world experience in determining this value by standard extract spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods. The observed underestimation of satellite estimates of Chl-a concentration using the standard empirical bio-optical OC4 algorithm can be attributed to at least three reasons typical for the studied water area: low relative CDOM content, high phycoerythrin content, and stronger effect of pigment packing in phytoplankton cells compared to the average values in the World Ocean.