However, our average values of aph*(chla) (440) can be directly compared with other data given by Vantrepotte et al. (2007) for the eastern English Channel. These authors reported an average aph*(chla) (440) value of about 0.048 m2 mg−1 (± 0.024 m2 mg−1) for their winter samples, which is very similar to our average value (recall that we obtained a value of about 0.048 m2 mg−1 ± 0.019 m2 mg−1), but at the same time they also gave an approximately threefold lower average value for their spring and summer samples – a value of 0.018 m2 mg−1 (± 0.004 m2 mg−1). The spread

of our results for the red part of the spectrum (our average aph  *(chl a) (675) is 0.023 m2 mg−1 ± 0.007 m2 mg−1) also seems to AZD5363 ic50 be at least partially convergent with the results presented by Oubelkheir et al. (2006) for the tropical coastal waters off eastern Australia. They reported on a wide range of possible aph*(chla) (676) values between 0.008 and 0.030 m2 mg−1. Interestingly, a common factor in all the papers cited above is that all authors, regardless of the differences in average

values they present, report a significant variability in the values of aph*(chla) for coastal (case II) waters. Table 2 (rows 5, 7 and 8) also presents average values and variability of aph  (λ) normalized see more to SPM, POC and POM. At the seven light wavelengths selected and for almost all comparable cases the variability of aph*(λ)aph*(λ), aph*(POC)aph*(POC), aph*(POM)aph*(POM) is higher than it was in the case of ap*(chla). At 440 nm CV reaches its lowest values for each constituent-specific Aspartate coefficient – 74%, 54% and 64% for aph  *(440), aph*(POC)aph*(POC) (440) and aph*(POM)aph*(POM) (440) respectively. The relationship between aph(440) and POC is plotted in Figure 5e, and the best-fit equations between aph(440) and SPM, POC or POM, are also given in Table 3. Finally, we mention the results concerning the absorption of light by detritus. Before we present the resultant constituent-specific absorption coefficients of detritus, let us briefly characterize

the shapes of the ad spectra that we obtained for our Baltic samples. Once all the spectra had been fitted with an exponential function (ad(λ) = C1 exp[–Sd(λ – λref)]), we found the average slope Sd to be 0.0070 nm−1 (± 0.0027 nm−1) (fitting was performed for a range of wavelengths between 350 and 600 nm). Compared with the literature values given by Babin et al. (2003b) (they found the average spectral slope Sd to be 0.0130 nm−1 (± 0.0007 nm−1) for their Baltic samples and 0.0123 nm−1 (± 0.0013 m−1) for all their coastal samples), our value seems to be distinctly lower (and as a result our average spectrum seems to be flatter). But at this point it is important to note that Babin et al. (2003b) had all their ap and ad spectra corrected to show no absorption at the wavelength of 750 nm.