Assessing the Impact of a Two-Layered Spherical Geometry of Phytoplankton Cells on the Bulk Backscattering Ratio of Marine Particulate Matter

The bulk backscattering ratio ( b b p ˜ ) is commonly used as a descriptor of the bulk real refractive index of the particulate assemblage in natural waters. Based on numerical simulations, we analyze the impact of modeled structural heterogeneity of phytoplankton cells on b b p ˜ . b b p ˜ is modeled considering viruses, heterotrophic bacteria, phytoplankton, organic detritus, and minerals. Three case studies are defined according to the relative abundance of the components. Two case studies represent typical situations in open ocean, oligotrophic waters, and phytoplankton bloom. The third case study is typical of coastal waters with the presence of minerals. Phytoplankton cells are modeled by a two-layered spherical geometry representing a chloroplast surrounding the cytoplasm. The b b p ˜ values are higher when structural heterogeneity is considered because the contribution of coated spheres to light backscattering is higher than homogeneous spheres. The impact of heterogeneity is; however, strongly conditioned by the hyperbolic slope ξ of the particle size distribution. Even if the relative abundance of phytoplankton is small (<1%), b b p ˜ increases by about 58% (for ξ = 4 and for oligotrophic waters), when the heterogeneity is taken into account, in comparison with a particulate population composed only of homogeneous spheres. As expected, heterogeneity has a much smaller impact (about 12% for ξ = 4 ) on b b p ˜ in the presence of suspended minerals, whose increased light scattering overwhelms that of phytoplankton.