Abstract:

As important parameters of the marine ecosystem and its functional structure, knowledge of the chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration and phytoplankton primary production is crucial for evaluation of marine ecosystem status. Understanding of the spatiotemporal changes of both Chl a concentration and primary production in the Arctic Ocean is of great importance regarding the improvement of our knowledge of the marine ecosystem and its response to ongoing climate change. Hence, in this study, we considered the various approaches that use ocean color remote sensing to estimate the Chl a concentration and primary production in the Arctic Ocean. The variations of Chl a concentration and primary production in recent years on both temporal and spatial scales were summarized to provide perspective regarding the biogeochemical changes occurring in the Arctic Ocean and their impact on the marine ecosystem.

Key words: chlorophyll a, primary production, remote sensing, Arctic Ocean