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OCEAN COLOR FROM SPACE
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Introduction
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These different waters may also be sometimes discernable by a
difference in their colour, a contrast of shades of blue and green making a line
across the sea...
If these marked colour changes can be correctly interpreted we may in the future
find aircraft being used to make rapid surveys of the surface conditions in
relation to the fisheries.
SIR ALISTER HARDY
The Open Sea, 1929
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For the first time, oceanographers now have
the ability to view the global distribution of
photosynthetic organisms in the world's
oceans from space. The observations made
from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS),
a radiometer that operated on NASA's
Nimbus-7 satellite from 1978-1986, have
sparked a revolution in the way we think
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Lauderia sp.,
marine phytoplankton
(magnification: 150x). |
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about physical and biological processes in the sea.
Using techniques principally developed at the
University of Miami and Goddard Space Flight
Centers, color images have been produced which show the
incredible variability that exists in the distribution and concentration of
phytoplankton--microscopic, single-celled ocean plants that provide
the ultimate source of food for marine life. The CZCS global data sets
--examples of which are contained in
this folder-- lay the scientific foundations for new generations of
satellite ocean color sensors and have formed a cornerstone for international
efforts to understand the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle. |
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Atmos Composition
