Stereoscopic SeaWiFS Biosphere Global Rotation: 1997-2006

This animation represents nearly a decade's worth of data taken by the SeaWiFS instrument, showing the abundance of life in the sea. This time period repeats twice during the animation. 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. The nutrient-rich waters contribute to some of the oxygen-poor pockets of the seas called dead zones.

This visualization is a stereoscopic version of animation entry: #3420:SeaWiFS Biosphere Global Rotation from 1997 to 2006