Posters

Poster Session 1, Monday,  October  3, 15:40–18:00

Poster 21

Optical properties of dissolved organic and particulate matter in three estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico: seasonal trends and impact of an extreme flood event

Dissolved organic (DOM) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) play an important role in the distribution and transport of organic carbon, pollutants, and sediments across the estuary-coastal ocean continuum. We present results of field bio-optical measurements conducted in three representative estuary geomorphologies in the northern Gulf of Mexico namely, Apalachicola Bay (DOM-dominated), Barataria Bay (particle-dominated) and Galveston Bay (both DOM- and particle -dominated). The spectral absorption coefficient and slope of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), particle physio-optical properties related to SPM (spectral particle absorption and back-scattering coefficients and particle size distribution), and distinct remote sensing reflectance signals provided important insights into DOM and particle characteristics at seasonal scales in climate- and anthropogenically-stressed Barataria and Apalachicola estuaries, and following an extreme flood event in Galveston Bay located within the proximity of an industrialized metropolitan area. We further examine satellite-derived spatiotemporal patterns of absorption and scattering properties using an adaptive quasi-analytical algorithm QAA-AD (a combination of the standard QAA and a turbid water optimized QAA or the QAA-V) in the three optically complex estuaries and the adjacent coastal waters. Satellite-derived optical properties provide an important link to biogeochemical indicators such as dissolved and particulate organic carbon and phytoplankton biomass and its accurate assessment is critical to improve understanding of carbon cycling and dynamics at the land-ocean interface using ocean color.

Eurico D’Sa, Louisiana State University, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-5262-6094 

Ishan Joshi, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, [email protected] 

Bingqing Liu, The Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, [email protected] 

Bijaylaxmi Sahoo, Louisiana State University, [email protected]