In The Zone

  • Released Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:55PM
  • ID: 10331

Earth's oceans are wide reaching and teeming with life. One microscopic aquatic organism plays a major role in making life on Earth possible: phytoplankton. Under certain conditions, excessive phytoplankton growth can result in an area known as a dead zone. Dead zones form when big blooms of phytoplankton at the surface trigger large quantities of organic matter, which then sink to the bottom. Bacteria break down the organic material, releasing carbon dioxide but absorbing oxygen as they work. Most marine organisms need oxygen for survival and dead zones prove fatal for many aquatic species. This short web video features dynamic animations, science data visualizations, and interview excerpts with a NASA oceanographer to explore this fascinating marine phenomenon.

This short web video features dynamic animations, science data visualizations, and excerpts with a NASA oceanographer to explore the fascinating phenomenon of ocean dead zones.

For complete transcript, click here.

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/dead_zones.html

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye. 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).

Series

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Datasets used in this visualization

  • SeaStar

    ID: 100
    Collected with SeaWiFS

    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

    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.).

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