Understanding the stability of the ECOPuck optical sensor: evaluation of long-term ocean glider data streams across decades

Over 16 years, Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ocean Glider program has collected high-resolution optical sensor data (scatter, chlorophyll- a (Chl)) and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence) across 400+ missions. While these data are consistent within a mission, end users require assurance of dataset comparability over numerous missions and years. To understand sensor data stability, we compared ECOPuck scale factors (SFs) following calibrations and between instruments of the same model. We also examined variability in the fluorescent response of different phytoplankton species and the effect on Chl estimates. Finally, we compared matchups between ECOPuck fluorescence and Chl bottle samples. We found that SFs for Chl were stable and highly comparable over different missions and sensors, changing < 9% following calibration and