Satellite observed dynamics of chlorophyll and suspended sediments in a shallow,high latitude embayment

A study of the distribution of chlorophyll and suspended sediments in Norton Sound, Alaska, in May and July 1979 and 1980, was made using imagery from both raw and processed data collected by the Nimbus-7 CZCS. False color images generated from the raw data in bands 1,2, and 4 showed the large seasonal changes which take place in the north and easterly movement of suspended sediments from the Yukon River. The atmospherically corrected pigment images suggest that, except in open waters, the outflow from the Yukon and other local rivers strongly influences the nature of the planktonic environment in Norton Sound. Comparison of the patterns shown by the two different kinds of imagery sometimes reveals features which would otherwise have been masked in waters with such a significant sediment load. In general, the distribution and concentration of chlorophyll and suspended sediments in the imagery provided a useful means for determining the relative importance of winds, currents, ice, and river runoff in the biological and physical oceanography of the surface waters of Norton Sound.