

FOLLOWUS
1.College of Geodesy and Geomatics, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
2.School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
3.College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
4.School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
liu@sdust.edu.cn
Received:02 December 2025,
Online First:06 August 2026,
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HUANG Jue,DU Tianwei,MU Yulei,et al.Vertical profile observation of chlorophyll ,a in the Norwegian Sea based on the spaceborne lidar ICESat-2[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,
HUANG Jue,DU Tianwei,MU Yulei,et al.Vertical profile observation of chlorophyll ,a in the Norwegian Sea based on the spaceborne lidar ICESat-2[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, DOI:.
The chlorophyll-
a
(Chl-
a
) concentration is a core indicator for assessing the health of marine ecosystems. With single-photon-sensitive detection capability
satellite-borne lidar technology can penetrate the sea surface to obtain subsurface optical signals in polar nights
overcoming the constraints of passive remote sensing. In this study
the backward scattering coefficient of particulate matter (
b
bp
) was inverted based on the lidar equation
and a trinomial fitting model was developed to convert
b
bp
(532) to Chl
a
using the Biogeochemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) measured data in the Norwegian Sea. The retrieval accuracy was verified using corresponding BGC-Argo buoy measurements and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) water color data. Four Ice
Cloud
and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) orbital photon counting lidar tracks data (2020–2024) of the Norwegian Sea were selected to retrieve the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the vertical Chl-
a
profile. Horizontally
high Chl-
a
concentration (up to
>
2 mg/m
3
owing to warm-warm convergence) was observed at the eastern edge and in the central sea
followed by at turbid nearshore waters at low latitudes
and low concentrations (
<
0.5 mg/m
3
) were observed in the open sea. Vertically
significant stratification was observed in the depth range of 3–14 m. We verified the feasibility of ICESat-2 to invert the vertical profiles of Chl
a
under complex sea conditio
ns at high latitudes
and filled the observation gap of passive remote sensing in polar nights.
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