+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds Previous Animation Next Animation SeaWiFS Biosphere Data over the North Atlantic The SeaWiFS instrument aboard the Seastar satellite has been collecting ocean data since 1997. A check up of the Earth's planetary health reveals that the lowest rung in the ocean food chain is shrinking. For the past 20 years (early 1980s to present), phytoplankton concentrations declined as much as 30 percent in northern oceans. Scientists from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Oregon State University say warmer ocean temperatures and low winds may be depriving the tiny ocean plants of necessary nutrients. However, they still do not know if the loss of phytoplankton is a long-term trend or a climate oscillation. Scientists can monitor ocean and planetary health through phytoplankton. Since the whole ocean food chain depends on the health and productivity of phytoplankton, a significant change could indicate a shift in our climate. Phytoplankton consists of many diverse species of microscopic free-floating ocean plants that form the base of the ocean's food chain. These plants thrive on sunlight and nutrients. Limit either one and phytoplankton will not grow. This animation shows the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) in red and the net primary production NPP anomaly in units of Tgrams carbon per month in green. The MEI is a multivariate index that incorporates sea level pressure, surface zonal and meridional wind components, sea surface temperature, surface air temperature, and cloudiness (Wolter and Timlin, 1998). The MEI index is calculated for the tropical Pacific (i.e., between 10 degrees North and 10 degrees South, from Asia to the Americas) with units of kg m-3. The Net Primary Production (NPP) data was generated from the Vertically Generalized Production Model (VGPM). The VGPM data set is available at the following URL: http://web.science.oregonstate.eduocean.productivity/ . As the sea surface temperature warms, the production levels decrease.    This animation show the MEI in red and then the Ocean Net Primary Production (NPP) levels in green. Duration: 3.7 seconds Available formats:   1280x720   TIFF         3 MB   1280x720 (60 fps) Frames   320x180     PNG           14 KB   160x80       PNG           6 KB   80x40         PNG           3 KB   512x288 (29.97 fps) MPEG-1   913 KB   512x288 (60 fps) MPEG-4   33 KB How to play our movies    This animation shows the same data with the numeric values labeled. Duration: 3.7 seconds Available formats:   1280x720   TIFF         3 MB   1280x720 (60 fps) Frames   320x180     PNG           15 KB   512x288 (29.97 fps) MPEG-1   913 KB   512x288 (60 fps) MPEG-4   34 KB How to play our movies    The 1997-1998 El Nino event caused significant temperature and production changes. Available formats:   1280 x 720       TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         PNG 11 KB    The 1997-1998 El Nino event caused significant temperature and production changes. Available formats:   1280 x 720       TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         PNG 12 KB Animation Number: 3459 Animator: Lori Perkins (SVS) (Lead) Completed: 2007-11-22 Scientists: Gene Feldman (NASA/GSFC)   Mike Behrenfeld (Oregon State) Instrument: SeaStar/SeaWiFS Data sets: Biosphere   Vertically Generalized ProductionModel (VGPM)   Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) Data Collected: 08/29/1997 - 10/23/2006 Series: Ocean Productivity 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 Science paper: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7120/full/nature05317.html Related Documentation is available: Nature2006TrendsProofs.pdf     Please give credit for this item to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio Data provided by: Mike Behrenfeld (Oregon State University) Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: SVS Contact: Curator: