Satellite-derived estimates of phytoplankton pigments are thought to be affected by the phytoplankton species composition. Measurements of surface algal chlorophyll and satellite-derived pigment were compared for waters containing coccolithophores and dinoflagellates. Satellite-derived chlorophyll concentration was underestimated by a factor of 2–3 in a patch of the large coccolithophore, Umbilicosphaera sibogae , and also in a bloom of the dinoflagellate, Gonyaulax polyedra . Overall abundance and species-specific properties such as light scatter and vertical migration probably caused these results.
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Balch et al. (1989) studied this question.