+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds   + Podcasts   + Opportunities Previous Animation Next Animation Regions Exhibiting Decreased Phytoplankton Levels and Increased Sea Surface Temperatures Throughout most of Earth’s ocean, as the surface layer of the ocean warms, the water becomes less dense and forms a cap, rather than mixing down to allow cooler, nutrient-rich water to well up. Over time, areas with less mixing show reduced productivity and less phytoplankton. This data visualization highlights regions where a strong correlation between high sea surface temperatures and decreased phytoplankton productivity occurred from 1997-2006. For nearly a decade, the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) has been making global observations of phytoplankton productivity. On December 6, 2006, NASA-funded scientists announced that warming sea surface temperatures over the past decade have caused a global decline in phytoplankton productivity.    This animation depicts a rotating Earth with highlighted areas marking the regions where a strong correlation between high sea surface temperatures and decreased phytoplankton productivity occurred. Duration: 25.0 seconds Available formats:   1280x720 (30 fps) MPEG-4   17 MB   1280x720 (60 fps) MPEG-4   19 MB   640x360 (30 fps) MPEG-4   4 MB   1280x720 (30 fps) Frames   1280x720 (60 fps) Frames   3840x2160 TIFF         4 MB   320x180     PNG           105 KB   160x80       PNG           28 KB   80x40         PNG           7 KB How to play our movies Animation Number: 3642 Completed: 2009-09-30 Animators: Adam Martin (UMBC) (Lead)   Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC) Narrator: Troy Cline (Raytheon/GSFC) Producer: Maria Frostic (UMBC) Scientists: Gene Feldman (NASA/GSFC)   Michael Behrenfeld (Oregon State University) Writer: Maria Frostic (UMBC) Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets: Aqua/MODIS/Blue Marble   Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Band Combination 1, 4, 3   Sea Surface Temperature-Net Primary Productivity Correlation Series: Earth Science Week Phytoplankton   Earth Science Week Keywords: SVS >> HDTV SVS >> Phytoplankton SVS >> Phytoplankton Blooms GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Biosphere >> Microbiota Taxonomy >> Phytoplankton GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Biosphere >> Plant Taxonomy >> Phytoplankton Science paper: Behrenfeld at. al., Nature 444, 752-755 (7 December 2006)     Please give credit for this item to: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio. 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: