On the way to improving moderate spatial resolution ocean color data nearby highly productive Arctic ice edges

Phytoplankton plays a crucial role in the world carbon cycle and marine food web. However, impact of global warming on phytoplankton species composition and abundance remains uncertain. This is particularly true in the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas where global warming tends to be the most pronounced. Ocean color satellite images therefore represent an essential tool for providing a synoptic view of marine environments at spatial and temporal resolutions that traditional sampling methods are unable to acquire. However, over icy waters the quality of satellite images is largely affected by sea ice contamination. Today, the impact of sub-pixel and adjacent sea ice floes on the satellite measured signal are ignored in standard ocean color processing chains resulting in erroneous satellite derived bio-geochemical products. Here we explain how sea-ice affects the quality of satellite ocean color data by comparing in situ water reflectance measurements taken near ice-edges and/or ice-floes with spatial and temporal coincident satellite retrieved water reflectance data. In addition, high and medium spatial resolution satellite data are compared to evaluate the potential to correct ocean color data from sea-ice contamination by taking advantage of the synergy between high and medium spatial resolution images.