Current Conditions of the Northeast Shelf Ecosystem - Chlorophyll Distribution :: Ecosystems Dynamics and Assessment

Spring Chlorophyll Distribution

The progression of spring chlorophyll concentrations for the months of January through June are shown in the interactive figure on this page. Chlorophyll concentrations appear as progressive shades of green in the top row(s) of icons. Anomalies of chlorophyll concentration, those tending to exceed plus or minus one quarter of a standard deviation of the overall concentration for the field, are in the bottom row(s) of icons. The short duration spring blooms along the Northeast Shelf can be seen developing first on Georges Bank in March and along the New Jersey coast in April. Since these blooms lasted less then one month and occurred during a period spanning March into April, they do not appear to register prominently in the monthly chlorophyll images.

Place cursor over thumbnail to display detailed figure at the bottom