Seasonal climatologies of chlorophyll concentration and the percentage
contribution of assemblage 1 (A1) and assemblage 2 (A2) to
total chlorophyll, processed using the OCI-RG algorithm over the entire
OC-CCI time-series (1997–2012), are shown in Fig. 11 to illustrate the
typical seasonal succession. The temporal variations in chlorophyll in
open ocean regions of the Red Sea are consistent with those described
by Raitsos et al. (2013), with higher concentrations during the winter
and lower concentrations during the summer. However, coral reefbound
coastal waters (Fig. 1a) display equal or higher chlorophyll during
the summer period relative to that in winter (Racault et al., 2015).
Over the majority of the northern Red Sea, assemblage 1 (A1) contributes
highly to the chlorophyll concentration in summer and autumn
with a lower contribution during spring and winter. The southern Red
Sea and coral reef-bound coastal waters are dominated by assemblage
2 (A2) all year around, with coral reef-bound coastal waters having a
lower contribution of A2 in spring, and open-ocean waters having a
lower contribution of A2 in autumn