Assessment of Applicability of Satellite-Derived Ocean Color Data for Studying Variability of Total Suspended Matter in the Surface Layer of the Deep Part of the Black Sea

Purpose. Studies of spatial-temporal variability of total suspended matter are necessary for understanding the biochemical processes which form and support stable functioning of a marine ecosystem. The aim of the work is to assess applicability of satellite data for studying total suspended matter variability in the surface layer of the deep part of the Black Sea. Methods and Results. Application of the regression analysis yielded the linear regression equations that unite the in situ measurements of the total suspended matter concentrations in the surface layer in the northeastern (June, 2005–2015) and western (November, 2016, 2017 and December, 2017) deep sea areas, and the regional satellite products (the particulate backscattering coefficient, the absorption coefficient of colored detrital matter and the chlorophyll a concentration). Based on the measured and calculated data arrays, the maps of the total suspended matter concentrations in the surface layer of the northeastern Black Sea were constructed. The interannual changes in the in situ measured concentrations of the total suspended and lithogenic matters, as well as in the quasi-synchronous satellite regional products (the light absorption coefficient of colored detrital matter at 490 nm and the particulate backscattering coefficient at 555 nm) in June, 2005–2015 were considered. High total suspended matter concentrations were noted in 2012, just when extreme growth of the coccolithophorid population was observed in the Black Sea. The correlation coefficients were used to evaluate whether the relation between the total suspended matter concentration and the individual analyzed parameters was fast. Conclusions. Spatial distributions of the measured and calculated total suspended matter contents showed satisfactory agreement. In course of the whole observation period, difference between the values of the measured and calculated total suspended matter concentrations was on average 6–23 %. Possibility of application of the satellite-derived ocean color data for studying spatial-temporal variability of the total suspended matter content is shown.