Abstract
Satellite imagery of the North Sea from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) shows complex seasonal changes in the optical and biological properties of surface waters, features which have not been resolved, hitherto, through direct observations from ships. Selected scenes for the period 1979–1986, presented as single band (channel 3), colour composite (channels 1 + 2 + 3) and chlorophyll (channels 1/3 or 2/3) images, are used to demonstrate the relative surface distributions between February and October of suspended sediments, coccolithophores and plant pigments. Comparison are made also with sea surface temperature images from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Quantitative evaluation of the CZCS data is restricted by a lack of contemporary in situ optical and biological measurements. However, chlorophyll and Secchi disc distributions, determined by measurements from research ships have been compared qualitatively with images from the Southern Bight (13 May 1986) and for the east central North Sea (24 August 1984 and 24 October 1985). Mini series of CZCS images are presented to show the annual coccolithophore blooms, the development of the spring bloom in the Skagerrak, June 1983 and summer chlorophyl distributions in the German Bight.
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