Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea
Antarctic krill are the dominant metazoan in the Southern Ocean in terms of biomass; however, their wide and patchy distribution means that estimates of their biomass are still uncertain. Most currently employed methods do not sample the upper surface layers, yet historical records indicate that lar...
Published in: | Antarctic Science |
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/1/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea.pdf https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea/1E1333686CE8B8CADC3B4F42CE8B8197 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:530363 2023-05-15T13:41:45+02:00 Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea Belcher, Anna Fielding, Sophie Gray, Andrew Biermann, Lauren Stowasser, Gabriele Fretwell, Peter Ireland, Louise Tarling, Geraint A. 2021-08 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/1/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea.pdf https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea/1E1333686CE8B8CADC3B4F42CE8B8197 en eng Cambridge University Press https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/1/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea.pdf Belcher, Anna orcid:0000-0002-9583-5910 Fielding, Sophie orcid:0000-0002-3152-4742 Gray, Andrew; Biermann, Lauren; Stowasser, Gabriele orcid:0000-0002-0595-0772 Fretwell, Peter orcid:0000-0002-1988-5844 Ireland, Louise orcid:0000-0003-0960-0486 Tarling, Geraint A. orcid:0000-0002-3753-5899 . 2021 Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea. Antarctic Science, 33 (4). 402 -414. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000262 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000262> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000262 2023-02-04T19:52:08Z Antarctic krill are the dominant metazoan in the Southern Ocean in terms of biomass; however, their wide and patchy distribution means that estimates of their biomass are still uncertain. Most currently employed methods do not sample the upper surface layers, yet historical records indicate that large surface swarms can change the water colour. Ocean colour satellites are able to measure the surface ocean synoptically and should theoretically provide a means for detecting and measuring surface krill swarms. Before we can assess the feasibility of remote detection, more must be known about the reflectance spectra of krill. Here, we measure the reflectance spectral signature of Antarctic krill collected in situ from the Scotia Sea and compare it to that of in situ water. Using a spectroradiometer, we measure a strong absorption feature between 500 and 550 nm, which corresponds to the pigment astaxanthin, and high reflectance in the 600–700 nm range due to the krill's red colouration. We find that the spectra of seawater containing krill is significantly different from seawater only. We conclude that it is tractable to detect high-density swarms of krill remotely using platforms such as optical satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles, and further steps to carry out ground-truthing campaigns are now warranted. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctic Science Euphausia superba Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Scotia Sea Southern Ocean Antarctic Science 33 4 402 414 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Antarctic krill are the dominant metazoan in the Southern Ocean in terms of biomass; however, their wide and patchy distribution means that estimates of their biomass are still uncertain. Most currently employed methods do not sample the upper surface layers, yet historical records indicate that large surface swarms can change the water colour. Ocean colour satellites are able to measure the surface ocean synoptically and should theoretically provide a means for detecting and measuring surface krill swarms. Before we can assess the feasibility of remote detection, more must be known about the reflectance spectra of krill. Here, we measure the reflectance spectral signature of Antarctic krill collected in situ from the Scotia Sea and compare it to that of in situ water. Using a spectroradiometer, we measure a strong absorption feature between 500 and 550 nm, which corresponds to the pigment astaxanthin, and high reflectance in the 600–700 nm range due to the krill's red colouration. We find that the spectra of seawater containing krill is significantly different from seawater only. We conclude that it is tractable to detect high-density swarms of krill remotely using platforms such as optical satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles, and further steps to carry out ground-truthing campaigns are now warranted. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Belcher, Anna Fielding, Sophie Gray, Andrew Biermann, Lauren Stowasser, Gabriele Fretwell, Peter Ireland, Louise Tarling, Geraint A. |
spellingShingle |
Belcher, Anna Fielding, Sophie Gray, Andrew Biermann, Lauren Stowasser, Gabriele Fretwell, Peter Ireland, Louise Tarling, Geraint A. Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea |
author_facet |
Belcher, Anna Fielding, Sophie Gray, Andrew Biermann, Lauren Stowasser, Gabriele Fretwell, Peter Ireland, Louise Tarling, Geraint A. |
author_sort |
Belcher, Anna |
title |
Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea |
title_short |
Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea |
title_full |
Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea |
title_fullStr |
Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea |
title_sort |
experimental determination of reflectance spectra of antarctic krill (euphausia superba) in the scotia sea |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/1/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea.pdf https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea/1E1333686CE8B8CADC3B4F42CE8B8197 |
geographic |
Antarctic Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctic Science Euphausia superba Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctic Science Euphausia superba Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530363/1/experimental-determination-of-reflectance-spectra-of-antarctic-krill-euphausia-superba-in-the-scotia-sea.pdf Belcher, Anna orcid:0000-0002-9583-5910 Fielding, Sophie orcid:0000-0002-3152-4742 Gray, Andrew; Biermann, Lauren; Stowasser, Gabriele orcid:0000-0002-0595-0772 Fretwell, Peter orcid:0000-0002-1988-5844 Ireland, Louise orcid:0000-0003-0960-0486 Tarling, Geraint A. orcid:0000-0002-3753-5899 . 2021 Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea. Antarctic Science, 33 (4). 402 -414. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000262 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000262> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000262 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
33 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
402 |
op_container_end_page |
414 |
_version_ |
1766157428731150336 |