Analysis of SeaWiFS Chlorophyll-a Matchups for the Atlantic Ocean using the Atlantic Meridional Transect Cruise Data

The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) cruises have been operating since 1995 with SeaWiFS satellite ocean colour data being available since September 1997. AMT sampling includes both underway and CTD stations with analysis of chlorophyll-a undertaken through HPLC. Matchups between AMT HPLC and SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a have been analysed using the SeaWiFS 8-day composites, and there is generally a good agreement (R2 from 0.68-0.91, slopes from 0.89-1.08 and intercepts of less than ±0.19). However, the long time series has uncovered inconsistencies which could be attributed to biases in the HPLC data once further research is undertaken.