Remote estimation of surface pCO2 on the West Florida Shelf

Surface pCO2 data from the West Florida Shelf (WFS) have been collected during 25 cruise surveys between 2003 and 2012. The data were scaled up using remote sensing measurements of surface water properties in order to provide a more nearly synoptic map of pCO2 spatial distributions and describe their temporal variations. This investigation involved extensive tests of various model forms through parsimony and Principal Component Analysis, which led to the development of a multi-variable empirical surface pCO2 model based on concurrent MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) estimates of surface chlorophyll a concentrations (CHL, mg m−3), diffuse light attenuation at 490 nm (Kd_Lee, m−1), and sea surface temperature (SST, °C). Validation using an independent dataset showed a pCO2 Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of