Search

Accurate measurements of absorption data are required for the development and validation of inversion algorithms for upcoming hyperspectral ocean color imaging sensors, such as the NASA Phytoplankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem mission. This study aims to provide uncertainty estimates associated with leading approaches to measure hyperspectral absorption coefficients in complex coastal waters. Absorption spectra were collected at 12 different stations, all located in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA, between 09 January 2017 and 13 January 2017. Measurements included spectral absorption coefficients in the visible range (400–700 nm) associated with dissolved, aCDOM, total particulate, ap, and total nonwater, anw, fractions, and were made both in situ and from discrete samples. Discrete sample approaches included dual‐beam spectrophotometer, liquid waveguide capillary cell, point‐source integrating cavity absorption meter (PSICAM) for dissolved matter absorption samples, and quantitative filter technique ICAM measurements and the dual‐beam spectrophotometer with center‐mounted integrating sphere filter pad technique, while the Turner Designs ICAM, and WET Labs AC‐s, and AC‐9 instruments were used to determine absorption coefficients in situ. The Gershun approach, determining absorption from measurement of the irradiance quartet with respect to depth was also assessed in situ. Measurement uncertainties and relative accuracies were quantified for each of these approaches. Results showed generally strong agreements between different discrete sample methods, with average percent absolute error %δabs < 7% for aCDOM and < 9% for ap. In situ approaches showed higher variability and reduced accuracy. For anw, %δabs deviation relative to PSICAM data was on average 12% to 20%. Results help identify remaining technological gaps and need for improvements in the different absorption measurement approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorophyll fluorometry is one of the most commonly implemented approaches for estimating phytoplankton biomass in situ, despite documented sources of natural variability and instrumental uncertainty in the relationship between in vivo fluorescence and chlorophyll concentration. A number of strategies are employed to minimize errors and quantify natural variability in this relationship in the open ocean. However, the assumptions underlying these approaches are unsupported in coastal waters due to the short temporal and small spatial scales of variability, as well as the optical complexity. The largest source of variability in the in situ chlorophyll fluorometric signal is nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). Typically, unquenched nighttime observations are interpolated over the quenched daytime interval, but this assumes a spatial homogeneity not found in tidally impacted coastal waters. Here, we present a model that provides a tidally resolved correction for NPQ in moored chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. The output of the model is a time series of unquenched chlorophyll fluorescence in tidal endmembers (high and low tide extremes), and thus a time series of phytoplankton biomass growth and loss in these endmember populations. Comparison between modeled and measured unquenched time series yields quantification of nonconservative variations in phytoplankton biomass. Tidally modeled interpolation between these endmember time series yields a highly resolved time series of unquenched daytime chlorophyll fluorescence values at the location of the moored sensor. Such data sets provide a critical opportunity for validating the satellite remotely sensed ocean color chlorophyll concentration data product in coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorophyll fluorometers provide the largest in situ global data set for estimating phytoplankton biomass because of their ease of use, size, power consumption, and relatively low price. While in situ chlorophyll a (Chl) fluorescence is proxy for Chl a concentration, and hence phytoplankton biomass, there exist large natural variations in the relationship between in situ fluorescence and extracted Chl a concentration. Despite this large natural variability, we present here a global validation data set for the WET Labs Environmental Characterization Optics (ECO) series chlorophyll fluorometers that suggests a factor of 2 overestimation in the factory calibrated Chl a estimates for this specific manufacturer and series of sensors. We base these results on paired High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and in situ fluorescence match ups for which non-photochemically quenched fluorescence observations were removed. Additionally, we examined matchups between the factory-calibrated in situ fluorescence and estimates of chlorophyll concentration determined from in situ radiometry, absorption line height, NASA's standard ocean color algorithm as well as laboratory calibrations with phytoplankton monocultures spanning diverse species that support the factor of 2 bias. We therefore recommend the factor of 2 global bias correction be applied for the WET Labs ECO sensors, at the user level, to improve the global accuracy of chlorophyll concentration estimates and products derived from them. We recommend that other fluorometer makes and models should likewise undergo global analyses to identify potential bias in factory calibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established clinical approaches to treat bone voids include the implantation of autograft or allograft bone, ceramics, and other bone void fillers (BVFs). Composites prepared from lysine-derived polyurethanes and allograft bone can be injected as a reactive liquid and set to yield BVFs with mechanical strength comparable to trabecular bone. In this study, we investigated the effects of porosity, allograft particle size, and matrix mineralization on remodeling of injectable and settable allograft/polymer composites in a rabbit femoral condyle plug defect model. Both low viscosity and high viscosity grafts incorporating small (<105 µm) particles only partially healed at 12 weeks, and the addition of 10% demineralized bone matrix did not enhance healing. In contrast, composite grafts with large (105-500 µm) allograft particles healed at 12 weeks postimplantation, as evidenced by radial µCT and histomorphometric analysis. This study highlights particle size and surface connectivity as influential parameters regulating the remodeling of composite bone scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]