Earth  ID: 3389

MODIS Sea Surface Temperature Highlighting the Gulf Stream (2002 to 2006)

Visualizations by Alex Kekesi Released on December 5, 2006
A recent study indicates a correlation between ocean nutrients and changes sea surface temperature (SST). The results show that when SSTs warm, marine plant life in the form of microscopic phytoplankton declines. Similarly, when SSTs cool, marine plant life seems to flourish. Changes in phytoplankton growth influence fishery yields and the amount of carbon dioxide the oceans remove from the atmosphere. This could have major implications on the future of our ocean's food web and how it relates to climate change.

The temperature data in this visualization comes from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft.

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This animation shows a 32-day moving average of SST data spanning July 4, 2002 to October 23, 2006. The animation starts over Europe, pans across the Atlantic, and settles in over the Gulf Stream.
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Sea Surface Temperature in Degrees Celsius.
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The Gulf Stream reflected in SST data. This data is an average from September 22, 2006 to October 23, 2006.

For More Information

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/warm_marine.html

Visualization Credits

Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Stuart A. Snodgrass (GST): Animator
Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Gene Feldman (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Science Paper:
'Climate-Driven Trends in Contemporary Ocean Productivity', Nature, Dec. 7

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3389

Mission:
Terra

Data Used:
Aqua/MODIS/Sea Surface Temperature
07/04/2002 - 10/23/2006
view all stories where this data set is used
Terra/MODIS/Sea Surface Temperature
07/04/2002 - 10/23/2006
view all stories where this data set is used
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.

This item is part of this series:
Ocean Productivity

Goddard TV Tape:
G2007-001HD -- NASA's HD Climate Change Resource Tape

Keywords:
DLESE >> Biology
DLESE >> Ecology
SVS >> HDTV
DLESE >> Physical oceanography
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Biosphere
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Biosphere >> Ecological Dynamics >> Food-web Dynamics
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0