Ah. Barnard et al., SEASONAL SURFACE OCEAN VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC BIGHT DERIVED FROM CZCS AND AVHRR IMAGERY, Continental shelf research, 17(10), 1997, pp. 1181
Spatial and temporal variability of sea-surface temperature (SST) and
surface chlorophyll derived from the AVHRR and CZCS sensors was examin
ed using a ti-year (1981-1986) time series of 866 SST and 372 CZCS ima
ges averaged into monthly mean fields. Five-year mean CZCS-Chl and SST
mean fields showed similar patterns, which closely followed the shelf
and slope water bathymetry. Along-shelf surface pigment variability i
s greatest in the near-shore waters and decreases offshore. Monthly me
an CZCS-Chl and SST showed consistent cross-shelf gradients with near-
shore surface waters cooler and more pigment-laden than offshore water
s and with summer months warmer and with lower CZCS-Chl concentrations
compared to winter. Harmonic regression analysis of monthly (59 month
s) CZCS-Chl and SST vs time showed that the seasonal cycle explains th
e highest proportion (> 80%) of CZCS-Chl variability in shelf waters f
rom Cape Fear, S.C. to Cape Lookout, N.C., with highest concentrations
observed during colder months of the year (ca November through March)
. The seasonal signal also dominates SST in this region explaining app
roximately 80-90% of the variability in the 5-year time series. Season
al cycles of CZCS-Chl and SST are inversely related with the highest c
orrelation observed south of Cape Hatteras and relatively poor correla
tion north of Cape Hatteras. In general, the seasonal cycle explained
more of the variability in near-shore and mid shelf waters than in wat
ers near the shelf-break. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.