Seasonal and spring interannual variations in satellite-observed chlorophyll-a in the Yellow and East China Seas: New datasets with reduced interference from high concentration of resuspended sediment

• We examined seasonal and interannual variations in chlorophyll-a in the Yellow and East China Seas.
• New satellite chlorophyll-a datasets with reduced interference from suspended sediment was used.
• Spring bloom was persistent over large areas.
• Spring bloom occurred later in the area with high suspended sediment during winter.
• Chlorophyll-a increased in the Yellow Sea and at the mouth of the Changjiang River from 1998 to 2007.

Seasonal and spring interannual variations in chlorophyll-a (Chl) and total suspended matter (TSM) in the Yellow and East China Seas through a 10-year period were examined by using new datasets from Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Ocean Color Project (YOC) algorithms. YOC SCHL calculations are based on a combination of the SeaWiFS standard algorithm and a local empirical algorithm for areas of low and high normalized water-leaving radiance 555 nm, respectively. YOC SCHL was lower than the standard SCHL in areas with high concentrations of resuspended sediment, especially along the Chinese and Korean coasts and around the Changjiang Bank from fall to spring. YOC SCHL was high in areas of low TSM in the middle of the Yellow Sea, and offshore of the Changjiang Bank in April, indicating the occurrence of spring blooms. In these areas, TSM was dominated by phytoplankton cells and phytoplankton-related organic particles. Offshore from the Changjiang River mouth and around the Changjiang Bank, YOC SCHL and TSM in March were low and high, respectively, with maximum YOC SCHL values occurring around the Changjiang Bank in May. Spring bloom started with decrease in resuspended sediment concentrations in these areas. During summer, YOC SCHL values were high and TSM concentrations were low; TSM was dominated by organic particles related to phytoplankton activity when Changjiang River diluted water moved from the river mouth to east of the bank. YOC SCHL in spring offshore from the Changjiang River mouth increased significantly during the 10 years, and correspond to an increase in red tide events. In the middle of the Yellow Sea, maximum YOC SCHL in spring increased gradually and significantly during the 10 years. Many of the spatial and temporal variations in YOC SCHL were consistent with a range of earlier in situ descriptions. Our results indicate that the satellite ocean data with proper algorithms is a powerful tool to analyze phytoplankton dynamics in moderate-high suspended sediment area.