SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF PHYTOPLANKTON FUNCTIONAL TYPES IN ALBORAN SEA FROM REMOTE SENSING IMAGES

During the last two decades, several satellite algorithms have been proposed to retrieve information about phytoplankton groups using ocean color data. One of these algorithms, the so-called PHYSAT-Med, has been developed specifically for the Mediterranean Sea due to the optical peculiarities of this basin. The method allows detection from ocean color images of phytoplankton groups, such as nanoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and diatoms. In this work, the PHYSAT-Med updated version has been used to analyze the annual cycles of major phytoplankton groups in the Alboran Sea and extract periodic components of variability using wavelet analysis. According to the PHYSAT-Med OC-CCI outputs, the algorithm represents a useful tool for the spatio-temporal monitoring of dominant phytoplankton groups in Alboran Sea.