The effects of river discharge and seasonal winds on the shelf off southeastern South America

The Río de la Plata waters form a low salinity tongue that affects the circulation, stratification and the distributions of nutrients and biological species over a wide extent of the adjacent continental shelf. The plume of coastal waters presents a seasonal meridional displacement reaching lower latitudes (28°S) during austral winter and 32°S during summer. Historical data suggests that the wind causes the alongshore shift, with southwesterly (SW) winds forcing the plume to lower latitudes in winter while summer dominant northeasterly (NE) winds force its southward retreat. To establish the connection between wind and outflow variations on the distribution of the coastal waters, we conducted two quasi-synoptic surveys in the region of Plata influence on the continental shelf and slope of southeastern South America, between Mar del Plata, Argentina and the northern coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil. We observed that: (A) SW winds dominating in winter force the northward spreading of the plume to low latitudes even during low river discharge periods; (B) NE winds displace the plume southward and spread the low salinity waters offshore over the entire width of the continental shelf east of the Plata estuary. The southward retreat of the plume in summer leads to a volume decrease of low salinity waters over the shelf. This volume is compensated by an increase of Tropical waters, which dominate the northern shelf. The subsurface transition between Subantarctic and Subtropical Shelf Waters, the Subtropical Shelf Front, and the subsurface water mass distribution, however, present minor seasonal variations. Along shore winds also influence the dynamics and water mass variations along the continental shelf area. In areas under the influence of river discharge, Subtropical Shelf Waters are kept away from the coastal region. When low salinity waters retreat southward, NE winds induce a coastal upwelling system near Santa Marta Cape. In summer, solar radiation promotes the establishment of a strong thermocline that increases buoyancy and further enhances the offshore displacement of low salinity waters under the action of NE winds.     

Space–time variability of the Plata plume inferred from ocean color

Satellite ocean color and surface salinity data are used to characterize the space–time variability of the Río de la Plata plume. River outflow and satellite wind data are also used to assess their combined effect on the plume spreading over the Southwestern South Atlantic continental shelf. Over the continental shelf satellite-derived surface chlorophyll-a (CSAT) estimated by the OC4v4 SeaWiFS retrieval algorithm is a good indicator of surface salinity. The log (CSAT) distribution over the shelf presents three distinct modes, each associated to: Subantarctic Shelf Water, Subtropical Shelf Water and Plata Plume water. The log (CSAT) 0.4–0.8 range is associated with a sharp surface salinity transition across the offshore edge of the Plata plume from 28.5 to 32.5. Waters of surface salinity <31, derived from mixtures of Plata waters with continental shelf waters, are associated to log (CSAT)>0.5. In austral winter CSAT maxima extend northeastward from the Plata estuary beyond 30°S. In summer the high CSAT waters along the southern Brazil shelf retreat to 32°S and extend south of the estuary to about 37.5°S, only exceeding this latitude during extraordinary events. The seasonal CSAT variations northeast of the estuary are primarily controlled by reversals of the along-shore wind stress and surface currents. Along-shore wind stress and CSAT variations in the inner and mid-shelves are in phase north of the estuary and 180° out of phase south of the estuary. At interannual time scales northernmost Plata plume penetrations in winter (∼1200 km from the estuary) are associated with more intense and persistent northeastward wind stress, which in the period 2000–2003, prevailed over the shelf south of 26°S. In contrast, in winter 1999, 2004 and 2005, characterized by weaker northeastward wind stress, the plume only reached between 650 and 900 km. Intense southwestward plume extensions beyond 38°S are dominated by interannual time scales and appear to be related to the magnitude of the river outflow. The plume response to large river outflow fluctuations observed at interannual time scales is moderate, except offshore from the estuary mouth, where outflow variations lead CSAT variations by about 2 months.     

太湖沿岸水体CDOM吸收光谱特性

有色可溶性有机物(CDOM)吸收光谱特性研究对于水色定量遥感反演具有重要作用.通过2007年6月10日至6月18日太湖沿岸68个CDOM吸收光谱曲线和水质参数实测数据,分析了CDOM吸收光谱曲线特征以及ag(440)、Sg值及其相关关系等,结果表明:太湖沿岸水体CDOM吸收光谱曲线表现为两种类型,贡湖湾CDOM吸收系数明显高于太湖其他沿岸水域,ag(440)最高值即出现在贡湖湾;同时,梅梁湾、贡湖湾、镇湖湾、光富湾等ag(440)高于沿岸水体平均值,而南部3个湖湾皆低于平均值.另外,贡湖湾Sg值较小,且与ag(440)呈现出较好的关系;而沿岸其它水体Sg值与ag(440)虽然呈现负相关,但关系不明显.这对于了解太湖水体CDOM特件以及定量反演有一定的意义和作用.     

Contrasting phytoplankton community structure and associated light absorption characteristics of the western Bay of Bengal

Absorption spectra, particulate pigments, and hydrochemical constituents were measured in the western Bay of Bengal (BoB) during July-August 2010 when influence of river discharge is at peak. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficient (a_CDOM(440)) displayed a significant inverse linear relationship with salinity in the surface waters implying conservative mixing of marine and terrestrial end members. The northern part of the study area is influenced by discharge from the river Ganga and a dominant terrestrial CDOM signal is seen. The southern part receives discharge from peninsular rivers with corresponding signals of higher CDOM than the linear model would indicate and higher UV-specific absorption coefficient (SUVA) indicating more aged and humified DOM. Lower contribution of CDOM to total non-water absorption and higher phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a absorption coefficient, a_ph(440)) but lower chlorophyll a specific phytoplankton absorption coefficient (a _ph ^* (440)) characterize the northern part, compared to the southern part. Chlorophyll b had a distinct linear relationship with chlorophyll a in the latter. The size index (SI) indicated dominance of microphytoplankton in the northern and nano and picophytoplankton in the southern parts. Chlorophyll a is significantly related to a _ph ^* (440) by an inverse power model in the northern part but by an inverse linear model in the southern part. Our study suggests that knowledge of the phytoplankton community structure is essential to improve chlorophyll a algorithm in the coastal Bay of Bengal.     

官厅水库秋季悬浮颗粒物和CDOM吸收特性

利用2012年9月5日在官厅水库采集的水体吸收系数数据,对总悬浮颗粒物、浮游植物色素颗粒物、非色素颗粒物和有色可溶性有机物的吸收特性进行研究.结果表明:秋季官厅水库的颗粒物吸收以浮游植物色素吸收为主,总颗粒物吸收光谱与浮游藻类吸收光谱相似;非色素颗粒物和有色可溶性有机物的吸收系数随波长的增大接近指数规律衰减;a_d(440)、a_d(675)与C_Chl.a呈显著相关,表明官厅水库秋季的非色素颗粒物主要来源于浮游藻类降解产物,陆源性输入较少;a ph(440)、a ph(675)与C_Chl.a存在显著线性关系,但其比吸收系数较为恒定,与C_Chl.a基本无关;不同采样点的不同组分吸收系数对总吸收系数的贡献不同,大致有4种表现类型.在富营养程度较高的妫库区,浮游植物色素是水体光谱吸收的主导因子;在富营养程度较低的中库区,颗粒物与有色可溶性有机物共同主导水体光谱吸收.     

Modeling the response of primary production and sedimentation to variable nitrate loading in the Mississippi River plume

Increases in nitrate loading to the Mississippi River watershed during the last 50 years are considered responsible for the increase in hypoxic zone size in Louisiana-Texas shelf bottom waters. There is currently a national mandate to decrease the size of the hypoxic zone to 5000 km² by 2015, mostly by a 30% reduction in annual nitrogen discharge into the Gulf of Mexico. We developed an ecosystem model for the Mississippi River plume to investigate the response of organic matter production and sedimentation to variable nitrate loading. The nitrogen-based model consisted of nine compartments (nitrate, ammonium, labile dissolved organic nitrogen, bacteria, small phytoplankton, diatoms, micro- and mesozooplankton, and detritus), and was developed for the spring season, when sedimentation of organic matter from plume surface waters is considered important in the development of shelf hypoxia. The model was forced by physical parameters specified along the river-ocean salinity gradient, including residence time, light attenuation by dissolved and particulate matter, mixed layer depth, and dilution. The model was developed using measurements of biological biomasses and nutrient concentrations across the salinity gradient, and model validation was performed with an independent dataset of primary production measurements for different riverine NO₃ loads. Based on simulations over the range of observed springtime NO₃ loads, small phytoplankton contributed on average 80% to primary production for intermediate to high salinities (>15), and the main contributors to modeled sedimentation at these salinities were diatom sinking, microzooplankton egestion, and small phytoplankton mortality. We investigated the impact of limiting factors on the relationship between NO₃ loading and ecosystem rates. Model results showed that primary production was primarily limited by physical dilution of NO₃, followed by abiotic light attenuation, light attenuation due to mixing, and diatom sinking. Sedimentation was mainly limited by the first three of these factors. Neither zooplankton grazing or plume residence times acted as limiting factors of ecosystem rates. Regarding nutrient reductions to the watershed, simulations showed that about half of the percent decrease in NO₃ load was reflected in decreased plume sedimentation. For example, a 30% decrease in NO₃ load resulted in a 19% decrease in average plume primary production and a 14% decrease in sedimentation. Finally, our model results indicated that the fraction of primary production exported from surface waters is highly variable with salinity (7–87%), a finding which has important implications for predictive models of hypoxic zone size that assume a constant value for this ratio.     

Deriving depths of deep chlorophyll maximum and water inherent optical properties: A regional model

The Bohai Sea is a semi-enclosed inland sea with case-2 waters near the coast. A comprehensive set of optical data was collected during three cruises in June, August, and September 2005 in the Bohai Sea. The vertical profile measurements, such as chlorophyll concentration, water turbidity, downwelling irradiance, and diffuse attenuation coefficient, showed that the Bohai Sea was vertically stratified with a relative clear upper layer superimposed on a turbid lower layer. The upper layer was found to correspond to the euphotic zone and the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) occurs at the base of this layer. By tuning a semi-analytical model (24 and 25) for the Bohai Sea, we developed a method to derive water inherent optical properties and the depth of DCM from above-surface measurements. Assuming a ‘fake’ bottom in the stratified water, this new method retrieves the ‘fake’ bottom depth, which is highly correlated with the DCM depth. The average relative error between derived and measured values is 33.9% for phytoplankton absorption at 440 nm, 25.6% for colored detrital matter (detritus plus gelbstoff) absorption at 440 nm, and 24.2% for the DCM depth. This modified method can retrieve water inherent optical properties and monitor the depth of DCM in the Bohai Sea, and the method is also applicable to other stratified waters.     

Mapping and initial dilution estimation of an ocean outfall plume using an autonomous underwater vehicle

A monitoring mission to study the shape and estimate initial dilution of the S. Jacinto outfall plume using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) was performed on July 30, 2002. In order to reduce the uncertainty about plume location and to concentrate the vehicle mission only in the hydrodynamic mixing zone, outputs of a near-field prediction model, based on effective real-time in situ measurements of current speed and direction and density stratification, were opportunistically used to specify in real time the mission transects. The surface characteristics of the outfall plume were found to be influenced strongly by the relatively weak stratification and low current velocities. Dilution was estimated using a temperature–salinity (TS-) diagram with initial mixing lines between wastewater and ambient waters. Effluent dilutions were at least 30:1 in this study. In order to efficiently map the plume dispersion we applied the least-squares collocation method technique. Our results demonstrate that AUVs can provide high-quality measurements of physical properties of effluent plumes in a quite effective manner and valuable considerations about the initial mixing processes under real oceanic conditions can be further investigated.     

Conductivity as a predictor of a total cations and salinity in Ethiopian lakes and rivers: revisiting earlier models

We used regression analyses of water samples from 18 lakes, nine rivers, and one spring in Ethiopia to (a) test the hypothesis that water bodies of relatively higher salinity (K₂₅>1000 μS cm⁻¹) have a different conductivity to salinity relationship than waters of lower salinity (K₂₅ < 1000 μS cm⁻¹), and (b) develop models to predict total cations and salinity from conductivity that can be used for Ethiopian waters and other African aquatic systems of similar chemical composition. We found no statistical difference in the bilogarithmic relationships (total cations vs. conductivity; salinity vs. conductivity) for waters of higher salinity (K₂₅ > 1000 μS cm⁻¹) and waters of lower salinity (K₂₅ < 1000 μS cm⁻¹). However, comparison among our models and models from the literature suggests that developing separate equations for low and high salinity water bodies has some merit. We believe that the equations developed in this study can be used for Ethiopian waters and other African waters within the range of conductivity in this study.     

Space-time variability of the Amazon River plume based on satellite ocean color

Satellite ocean color images were used to determine the space-time variability of the Amazon River plume from 2000–2004. The relationship between sea-surface salinity (SSS) and the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) absorption coefficient for dissolved and detrital material (a_dg) (r²=0.76, n=30, rmse=0.4) was used to identify the Amazon River plume low-salinity waters (<34 psu). The plume's spatial information was extracted from satellite bi-weekly time series using two metrics: plume area and plume shape. These metrics identified the seasonal variability of plume dimensions and dispersion patterns. During the study period, the plume showed the largest areas from July to August and the smallest from December to January. The mean annual amplitude and the mean, maximum and minimum plume areas were 1020×10³ km², 680×10³ km², 1506×10³ km² and 268×10³ km², respectively. Three main shapes and dispersion pattern periods were identified: (1) flow to the northeastern South American coast, in a narrow band adjacent to the continental shelf, from January to April; (2) flow to the Caribbean region, from April to July; and (3) flow to the Central Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, from August to December. Cross-correlation techniques were used to quantify the relationship between the plume's spatial variability and environmental forcing factors, including Amazon River discharge, wind field and ocean currents. The results showed that (1) river discharge is the main factor influencing plume area variability, (2) the wind field regulates the plume's northwestward flow velocity and residence time near the river mouth, and (3) surface currents have a strong influence over river plume dispersion patterns.     

Patos Lagoon outflow within the Río de la Plata plume using an airborne salinity mapper: Observing an embedded plume

Major river systems discharging into continental shelf waters frequently form buoyant coastal currents that propagate along the continental shelf in the direction of coastal trapped wave propagation (with the coast on the right/left, in the northern/southern hemisphere). The combined flow of the Uruguay and Paraná Rivers, which discharges freshwater into the Río de la Plata estuary (Lat. ∼36°S), often gives rise to a buoyant coastal current (the ‘Plata plume’) that extends northward along the continental shelf off Uruguay and Southern Brazil. Depending upon the prevailing rainfall, wind and tidal conditions, the Patos/Mirim Lagoon complex (Lat. ∼32°S) may also produce a freshwater outflow plume that expands across the inner continental shelf. Under these circumstances the Patos outflow plume can be embedded in temperature, salinity and current fields that are strongly influenced by the larger Plata plume. The purpose of this paper is to present observations of such an embedded plume structure and to determine the dynamical characteristics of the ambient and embedded plumes.     

Allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter in surface waters in Karelia

A relationship between indirect chemical indices of organic matter content of surface waters and light absorption in the visible and ultraviolet ranges is discussed. The allochthonous and autochthonous types of organic matter are found to essentially differ in the rate of light absorption. Techniques are proposed for the calculation of the concentrations of allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter by the integral rate of light consumption in the visible region and the bichromate oxidability of water, as well as by three indirect indices: chemical oxygen demand, permanganate oxidability, and water color index. The mean concentrations of allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter in large lakes (Ladoga, Onega, and Baikal) and in rivers and smaller water bodies in Karelia (>300 water objects) are analyzed. Allochthonous organic matter was found to predominate in most surface waters of Karelia (>80%), while allochthonous organic matter predominates only in lakes with a small specific catchment area (supposedly, <5) and in highly eutrophic lakes.     

Nutrients,irradiance, and mixing as factors regulating primary production in coastal waters impacted by the Mississippi River plume

Relationships among primary production, chlorophyll, nutrients, irradiance and mixing processes were examined along the salinity gradient in the Mississippi River outflow region. A series of six cruises were conducted during 1988–1992 at various times of year and stages of river discharge. Maximum values of biomass and primary production were typically observed at intermediate salinities and coincided with non-conservative decreases in nutrients along the salinity gradient. Highest values of productivity (>10 gC m⁻² d⁻¹) and biomass (>30 mg chlorophyll a m⁻³) were observed in April 1988, July–August 1990 and April–May 1992; values were lower in March and September 1991. Rates of primary production were apparently constrained by low irradiance and mixing in the more turbid, low salinity regions of the plume, and by nutrient limitation outside the plume. Highest values of primary production occurred at stations where surface nutrient concentrations exhibited large deviations from conservative mixing relationships, indicating that depletion of nutrients was related to phytoplankton uptake. Mixing and advection were important in determining the location and magnitude of primary production maxima and nutrient depletion. In addition to growth within plume surface waters, enhanced growth and/or retention of biomass may have occurred in longer residence time waters at the plume edge and/or beneath the surface plume. Vertical structure of some plume stations revealed the presence of subsurface biomass maxima in intermediate salinity water that was depleted in nutrients presumably by uptake processes. Exchange between subsurface water and the surface plume apparently contributed to the reduction in nutrients at intermediate salinities in the surface layer. DIN (=nitrate+nitrite+ammonium) : PO₄ (=phosphate) ratios in river water varied seasonally, with high values in winter and spring and low values in late summer and fall. Periods of high DIN : PO₄ ratios in river nutrients coincided with cruises when surface nutrient concentrations and their ratios indicated a high probability for P limitation. N limitation was more likely to occur at high salinities and during late summer and fall. Evidence for Si limitation was also found, particularly in spring.     

A Preliminary Study of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) in Lake Taihu,a Shallow Subtropical Lake in China

The optical properties and spatial distribution of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu were evaluated and compared to the results in literature. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) ranged from 8.75 to 20.19 mg L^?1 with an average of (13.10 ± 3.51) mg L^?1. CDOM absorption coefficients a(λ) at 280 nm, 355 nm, and 440 nm were in the range 11.28...33.46 m^?1 (average (20.95 ± 5.52) m^?1), 2.42...7.90 m^?1 (average (4.92 ± 1.29) m^?1), and 0.65...2.44 m^?1 (average (1.46 ± 0.44) m^?1), respectively. In general, CDOM absorption coefficient and DOC concentration were found to decrease away from the river inflow to Meiliang Bay towards the lake center. The values of the DOC‐specific absorption coefficients a*(λ), given as absorption coefficient related to mass concentration of organic carbon (C) ranged from 0.28 to 0.47 L mg^?1 m^?1 at 355 nm. The determination coefficients between CDOM absorption and DOC concentration decreased with the increase of wavelength from 280 to 550 nm. The linear regression relationship between CDOM absorption at 280 nm and DOC concentration was following: a(280 nm) = 1.507 L mg^?1 m^?1 · DOC + 1.215 m^?1. The spectral slope S values were dependent on the wavelength range used in the regression. The estimated S values decreased with increasing wavelength range used. A significant negative linear relationship was found between CDOM absorption coefficients, DOC‐specific absorption coefficients and estimated S values especially in longer wavelength range. The linear regression relationship between DOC‐specific absorption coefficients at 440 nm and estimated S values during the wavelength range from 280 to 500 nm was following: a*(440 nm) = (–0.021 μm · S + 0.424) L mg^?1 m^?1.     

The location of deep salinity sources in the Israeli Coastal aquifer

The salinization process of the Israeli Coastal aquifer has led to an average concentration of about 200 mgCl/l with a significant number of discrete salinity plumes in the middle and southern regions. The salinity of these plumes is high (500–1000 mgCl/l) and is increasing rapidly. Geochemical evidence has suggested that the salinity source in the Be'er Tuvia plume (in the south part of the aquifer) is at the bottom of the aquifer. This paper describes a solution of the source inverse problem and its application in the Be'er Tuvia plume. A transient two-dimensional finite element model was solved and the source terms were computed at each node in a 14×14 km² area. An error analysis has shown that when no errors are introduced in the input data the reconstruction is perfect. The results of a sensitivity analysis are presented and the actual reconstruction errors are estimated. Applying the model in the Be'er Tuvia region indicates that a salinity source exists about 1 km to the west and 1.5 km to the north of the center of the salinity plume. This source is believed to be the plume source.     

有色溶解有机物吸收光谱模型对比

利用6种统计模型对吉林省石头口门水库、松花湖CDOM吸收光谱曲线(350-650nm)进行拟合,从统计F值大小和归一化残差两个角度均证明双曲线模型效果最好;采用15个波段范围拟合CDOM吸收均值光谱斜率S,单指数模型S值变化幅度较大,平均变异系数为12.41%;而双曲线模型S值相对稳定,变异系数为5.85%.将双曲线模型应用于生物光学模型,研究表明双曲线模型可以反映CDOM时空变化规律和物质组成;且双曲线模型拟合光谱斜率S值与CDOM特征波长吸收具有很好的负相关关系,呈幂指数递减,决定系数达0.8137.     

Impacts of stormwater runoff in the Southern California Bight: Relationships among plume constituents

The effects from two winter rain storms on the coastal ocean of the Southern California Bight were examined as part of the Bight ‘03 program during February 2004 and February–March 2005. The impacts of stormwater from fecal indicator bacteria, water column toxicity, and nutrients were evaluated for five major river discharges: the Santa Clara River, Ballona Creek, the San Pedro Shelf (including the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Rivers), the San Diego River, and the Tijuana River. Exceedances of bacterial standards were observed in most of the systems. However, the areas of impact were generally spatially limited, and contaminant concentrations decreased below California Ocean Plan standards typically within 2–3 days. The largest bacterial concentrations occurred in the Tijuana River system where exceedances of fecal indicator bacteria were noted well away from the river mouth. Maximum nitrate concentrations (~40 μM) occurred in the San Pedro Shelf region near the mouth of the Los Angeles River. Based on the results of general linear models, individual sources of stormwater differ in both nutrient concentrations and the concentration and composition of fecal indicator bacteria. While nutrients appeared to decrease in plume waters due to simple mixing and dilution, the concentration of fecal indicator bacteria in plumes depends on more than loading and dilution rates. The relationships between contaminants (nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria) and plume indicators (salinity and total suspended solids) were not strong indicating the presence of other potentially important sources and/or sinks of both nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria. California Ocean Plan standards were often exceeded in waters containing greater than 10% stormwater (<28–30 salinity range). The median concentration dropped below the standard in the 32–33 salinity range (1–4% stormwater) for total coliforms and Enterococcus spp. and in the 28–30 salinity range (10–16% stormwater) for fecal coliforms. Nutrients showed a similar pattern with the highest median concentrations in water with greater than 10% stormwater. Relationships between colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and salinity and between total suspended solids and beam attenuation indicate that readily measurable, optically active variables can be used as proxies to provide at least a qualitative, if not quantitative, evaluation of the distribution of the dissolved, as well as the particulate, components of stormwater plumes. In this context, both CDOM absorption and the beam attenuation coefficient can be derived from satellite ocean color measurements of inherent optical properties suggesting that remote sensing of ocean color should be useful in mapping the spatial areas and durations of impacts from these contaminants.     

The distribution of particulate matter in the Atlantic Ocean

We have determined the dry weight of suspended particulate matter in seawater in a section through the western Atlantic Ocean from 75°N to 52°S. The concentrations, operationally defined as that weight retained on 0.6-μm and 0.4-μm pore size Nuclepore filters, contained in 1 kg of seawater, range from 5 to 300 μg/kg and show readily explainable regional features. High concentrations are found in surface waters and in association with radpidly moving bottom waters in the Denmark Straits overflow and in Antarctic bottom waters to 15°S. Low concentrations, <12 μg/kg, characterize the mid-water regions of the sub-tropical gyres. High concentrations are seen in sinking Labrador Sea water and in a plume extending at least a kilometer off the bottom at 35°N–40°N where the cruise track intersects the North Atlantic gyre. It is doubtful whether this important phenomenon could be observed by any means other than through particulate observations, either optical or gravimetric, and this provides a unique insight into the scale of vertical turbulent processes.     

Variations in light absorption properties during a phytoplankton bloom in the Pearl River estuary

From 15 to 28 August in 2007, a Chaetoceros socialis bloom was detected in the Pearl River Estuary water with chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a) up to 30 mg m⁻³ and cell density up to 10⁶ cells L⁻¹. Time series of bio-optical measurements was obtained at a single site (114.29°E, 22.06°N) with the mooring of marine optical buoy. Light absorption properties of seawater experienced large variability throughout the algal bloom. Absorption by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) was one of the dominant optical components of the light absorption (30–70%) especially for pre- and post-bloom waters, and it tended to decrease with Chl a during the algal bloom. Absorption by phytoplankton was another dominant optical component (18–50%) and increased rapidly with Chl a. Phytoplankton and accompanying material played dominant roles in light absorption as indicated by the relationship between absorption coefficient and Chl a. At high pigment concentrations, water samples showed significantly lower specific phytoplankton absorption, compared with pre- and post-bloom conditions, with the specific phytoplankton concentration at 443 nm varied between 0.011 and 0.022 m² mg⁻¹ and that at 676 nm between 0.007 and 0.018 m² mg⁻¹; small values of blue-to-red ratio of phytoplankton were also observed. These lower values were associated with variations in phytoplankton size structure. Spectral variability of phytoplankton absorption and total absorption (not including the fixed background absorption by pure water itself) could be expressed as simple linear functions linking absorption at one wavelength to the absorption at the other wavelengths, with the slope of the relationship changing with wavelength. The absorption coefficients by non-algal particles and CDOM follow the general exponential functions with remarkably limited variability in the exponent with means of 0.0105 and 0.0166 nm⁻¹, respectively. These spectral dependencies of absorption coefficients provide useful information for retrieving inherent optical properties from reflectance data in a remote-sensing context.