Global Rotation of SeaWiFS Biosphere Decadal Average without Land

  • Released Monday, April 23, 2007
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The SeaWiFS instrument aboard the Seastar satellite has been collecting ocean data since 1997. By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. This animation shows an average of 10 years worth of SeaWiFS data. Dark blue represents warmer areas where there tends to be a lack of nutrients, and greens and reds represent cooler nutrient-rich areas which support life. The nutrient-rich areas include coastal regions where cold water rises from the sea floor bringing nutrients along and areas at the mouths of rivers where the rivers have brought nutrients into the ocean from the land.

This animation depicts the 10-year average from 1997 to 2007 of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration data on a rotating globe with the land data masked out to gray.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over Asia and Australia.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over Asia and Australia.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over Africa and Europe.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over Africa and Europe.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over the Americas.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over the Americas.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over the Pacific Ocean.

A print resolution picture of SeaWiFS ocean chlorophyll concentration decadal average over the Pacific Ocean.

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become DigitalGlobe).

This page was originally published on Monday, April 23, 2007.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:55 PM EDT.

Series

This visualization can be found in the following series:

Datasets used in this visualization

  • NDVI [SeaStar: SeaWiFS]

    ID: 601
    Sensor: SeaWiFS Dates used: 08/29/1997 - 10/23/2006

    All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye.

    Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become one DigitalGlobe.).

    See all pages that use this dataset

Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.