Shovon gave an invited talk on “Data assimilation for improved estimation of autotrophic carbon using marine biogeochemical models” at the Advances in the Use of Historical Marine Climate Data MARCDAT-IV at National Oceanographic Institute, Southampton. This talk was attended by a wide range of academicians and scientists
The autotrophic-carbon stock in the ocean is responsible for almost half of the annual global carbon fixation, and is fundamental to the global carbon cycle. However, an accurate estimation of this carbon stock on a global scale is a non-trivial task. This presentation dealt with some recent developments in this direction. It included integration of in situ data and satellite-remote sensing through (i) development of novel bio-optical algorithm combining allometric relationships and light-absorption properties of phytoplankton, and (ii) implementation of data assimilation using biogeochemical model, to provide independent estimates of carbon stocks in marine autotrophs (phytoplankton) partitioned into various size classes. The importance of the approaches was discussed in the context of minimizing uncertainties in phytoplankton-carbon estimates by satellite algorithms and marine ecosystem models.