+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds   + Podcasts   + Opportunities Previous Animation Next Animation Global Biosphere from August, 1997 to July, 2003 (WMS) 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 represents the first six years' worth of data taken by the SeaWiFS instrument, showing the abundance of life both on land and in the sea. In the ocean, dark blue represents warmer areas where there is little life due to lack of nutrients, and greens and reds represent cooler nutrient-rich areas. 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. On land, green represents areas of abundant plant life, such as forests and grasslands, while tan and white represent areas where plant life is sparse or non-existent, such as the deserts in Africa and the Middle East and snow-cover and ice at the poles.    This animation shows the first six years worth of biosphere data taken by the SeaWiFS instrument. On land, areas of high plant life are shown in dark green, while areas of low plant life are shown in tan. In the ocean, areas of high phytoplankton are shown in red, and areas of lowest phytoplankton are shown in blue and purple. Duration: 9.0 seconds Available formats:   2048x1024 Frames   384x192 (29.97 fps) MPEG-1   1 MB   160x80       PNG           26 KB   80x40         PNG           7 KB   320x160     JPEG         12 KB   1024x512   Frames How to play our movies This product is available through our Web Map Service.   Click here to learn more.    This is the legend for the global biosphere animation. There are two different, but related, types of data shown. On land, plant life is denoted in shades of tan (low) and green (high), while reds and yellows denote areas of high ocean chlorophyll and blues denote low concentrations. Available formats:   320 x 180         PNG       26 KB Animation Number: 2914 Completed: 2004-02-16 Animator: Eric Sokolowsky (GST) (Lead) Scientist: Gene Feldman (NASA/GSFC) Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets: SeaStar/SeaWiFS   SeaStar/SeaWiFS/Biosphere Data Collected: 1997/08/13 - 2003/07/20 Series: WMS Keywords: DLESE >> Biological oceanography SVS >> Biosphere DLESE >> Ecology GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Biosphere >> Microbiota Taxonomy >> Phytoplankton GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Oceans >> Ocean Optics >> Ocean Color More Information on this topic available at: http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html DEPC Metadata is available in seawifs-6year.depc seawifs-orient.depc     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 (http://www.geoeye.com). Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: Content Contact: Curator: