Resumen

CERVANTES DUARTE, Rafael; VALDEZ HOLGUIN, José Eduardo  y  REYES SALINAS, Amada. Comparisons between in situ reflectance 443/555 y 490/555 with Chlorophyll a and Total Suspended Matter in La Paz Bay, B.C.S., Mexico. Hidrobiológica [online]. 2004, vol.14, n.1, pp.11-17. ISSN 0188-8897.

Bio-optical characteristics of the surface water layer in La Paz Bay and Lagoon denominated "Ensenada de La Paz" were studied. A series of hydrographic stations were sampled during June, September, November of 1997 and January of 1998. According to hydrological and bathymetric characteristics the bay was separated in to deep and shallow waters and the lagoon in to channel and shallow waters. The distribution of surface temperature showed a typical seasonal pattern, minimum in January (22.5 °C) and maximum in September (>30 °C). The chlorophyll (Cla) and suspended total matter (MST) average concentration was smaller in bay (0.26 to 0.65 mg Cla m^-3 and 0.5 to 1.2 g MST m^-3) than in the lagoon stations (0.5-2.4 mg Cla m^-3 and 0.98 to 5.6 g MST m^-3). Also, diffuse light attenuation coefficient (K_dPAR) was lower in bay than lagoon stations, probably due to the smallest values of MST and phytoplankton. The best fit between in-situ reflectance 443/555 and 490/555 vs. Cla and MST, respectively was the potential model (A = 0.8023 * B^-0.819 and A = 1.2401 ^* B^-0.8011). The concentration of MST vs. K_dPAR presented a high lineal correlation (r²=0.96), and a lower correlation between Cla vs. K_dPAR (r²=0.77). The high correlations between radiometric measurements vs. surface Cla and MST concentrations found in La Paz bay and lagoon waters, shows the capacity to using remote sensing techniques to improve estimates Cla and MST in coastal waters of the Gulf of California.

Palabras llave : Reflectance; remote sensing; chlorophyll a; MST; Gulf of California.