Standard Presentation and Poster Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

An investigation of latitudinal patterns of phytoplankton blooms in the Asia-Pacific region in relation to climatic and anthropogenic drivers (#235)

Yinuo Xu 1 , Tingbao Xu 1 , Bruce Doran 1 , Hannelie Botha 2
  1. The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  2. CSIRO, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Occurrences of phytoplankton bloom have significantly increased worldwide with an uneven latitudinal distribution pattern. Coasts and estuaries are important continent-ocean conduits that record major bloom outbreaks under natural and anthropogenic environmental change. A comparative study of recurrent phytoplankton blooms from North Asia to Southeast Asia will help identify latitudinal patterns at regional scales and their driving forces, including how the latitudinal variations in phytoplankton blooms are related to ongoing climate change. This proposed research will select the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin (North Asia), Mekong River Basin (Southeast Asia), and the Fitzroy River Basin (Australia) as representative catchments to study phytoplankton blooms at fine scales under a range of anthropogenic pressures. Multiple remotely sensed data and models will be employed to investigate and identify both extreme cases and long-term trends of phytoplankton blooms in the region. The primary satellite remotely sensed data in the study include chlorophyll content, Sea Surface Temperature (SST), precipitation, solar radiation, and land use land cover. This research will build upon recent research using remote sensing methodologies to study phytoplankton blooms and aims to answer some key questions regarding regional phytoplankton blooms and their driving forces. It also intends to build novel methodologies for phytoplankton studies.