Study on the correlation between chlorophyll maximum and remote sensing data

Based on the in situ optical measurements in the Bohai Sea of China, which belongs to a typical case-2 water area, we studied the characteristics of DCM (deep chlorophyll maximum) such as its spatial distribution, vertical profile, etc. We found that when the depth of the chlorophyll maximum is comparatively small, even in turbid coastal water regions, there is always a good correlation between the concentrations of chlorophyll maximum and the satellite-received signals in blue-green spectral bands; the correlation is even better than that between the surface chlorophyll concentrations and the satellite-received signals. The strong correlation existing even in turbid coastal water regions indicates that an ocean color model to retrieve the concentration of DCM can be constructed for coastal waters if a comprehensive knowledge of the vertical distribution of chlorophyll concentration in the Bohai Sea of China is available.