NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory

National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory

BROWSE CATEGORY - Oceans

	Ocean Acidification Impacts Coral Reefs The ocean is absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide—a natural process. However, as carbon dioxide enters the ocean, it reacts with water to form acid. Subsequent chemical reactions that try to maintain a normal pH level in the ocean end up reducing the amount of calcium carbonate—a component in t (more...)
	Humans Impact the Ocean Human activities, both knowingly and unknowingly, affect the ocean. A team of 19 scientists, including one from NOAA, undertook the task of mapping how humans have impacted the ocean over time. This animation takes a tour of this marine impact map and identifies some of the sources of negative impacts (more...)
	El Niño and La Niña The oceans warm and cool as the seasons change. However, sometimes there are periods of abnormally warm and cool sea surface temperatures. In the equatorial Pacific, these periods often result from phenomenon called El Niño and La Niña. This animation shows the warmer than average sea surface temperat (more...)
	Heating Up the Ocean Satellite measurements of sea surface temperatures (SST) are critical for weather forecasts, understanding ocean circulation, and even knowing where fish populations may be located. This animation shows daily SST trends over the last 25 years, along with analysis of how ocean temperatures have been chan (more...)
	The Dead Zone Hypoxic zones are areas in the ocean of such low oxygen concentration that animal life suffocates and dies, and as a result are sometimes called "dead zones." One of the largest dead zones forms in the Gulf of Mexico every spring. This data visualization discusses the causes of hypoxia in the Gulf of M (more...)
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