Detection of decadal climate change based on consistent satellite observation of the Nordic Seas aquatic ecosystem

During the last decades there has been a significant warming trend over the Arctic. The aquatic environments respond to the ongoing changes in the Earth System. Decadal time series of satellite observations of aquatic ecosystems, combined with in situ sam pling and a dynamic ocean model, allow us to better understand important changes of water bodies within the Nordic Seas, namely the Norwegian Sea, The North Sea and the Barents Sea. We propose to apply the advanced algorithm developed at NIERSC and adjust ed for regional conditions at NERSC to SeaWiFS, MODIS and MERIS data for generation of water quality parameters (chlorophyll, dissolved organics, suspended matter and sea surface temperature) time series from 1997 to the present. For obtaining continuous satellite dataset we will use merging techniques for stitching data from different sensors. It is also planned to apply empirical algorithms for calculating secondary variables: primary production, harmful algal blooms frequency, resuspension intensity, s ediment transport; water opacity, etc. The quality of the calculated primary and secondary variables will be validated against the ground truth and historical data available to the partners. The generated time-series will be used for detection of signific ant changes of the variables with statistical analysis and for comparison with changes detected from meteorological observations. Expected results are: time-series of variables that experience significant changes through the last decade and a conceptual m odel that describes the link between these variables and changed meteorological parameters; a technique for merging satellite data for providing consistent and continuous remote sensing dataset for the period 1997 to present; the database of water quality parameters for the Nordic Seas and the Barents Sea for last ten years; a quantitative assessment of the changes in the marine ecosystem of the Nordic Seas, using ocean color satellite data (refereed publication).