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MODIS Sea Surface Temperature from 2002 to 2006

A recent study indicates there is a correlation between ocean nutrients and changes in sea surface temperature (SST). The results show that when ocean water warms, marine plant life in the form of microscopic phytoplankton tend to decline. When water cools, plant life flourishes. Changes in phytoplankton growth influence fishery yields and the amount of carbon dioxide the oceans remove from the atmosphere. This could have major implications on the future of our ocean's food web and how it relates to climate change.

The temperature data in this visualization comes from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft.

In order to see the correlation between SST and SeaWiFS data, this animation can be compared to the latter part of the animation called 'SeaWiFS Biosphere from 1997 to 2006'. Please click here to see this other animation.


This animation shows a 32-day moving average of SST data over the Pacific spanning July 4, 2002 to October 23, 2006.    This animation shows a 32-day moving average of SST data over the Pacific spanning July 4, 2002 to October 23, 2006.
Duration: 24.0 seconds
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Sea Surface Temperature in Degrees Celsius.
   Sea Surface Temperature in Degrees Celsius.

Available formats:
  320 x 90           PNG         9 KB


A 32-day average of SST data over the Pacific Ocean averaged over September 22, 2006 to October 23, 2006.    A 32-day average of SST data over the Pacific Ocean averaged over September 22, 2006 to October 23, 2006.

Available formats:
  2560 x 1920     TIFF 2 MB
  320 x 240         PNG       51 KB

Animation Number:3388
Completed:2006-11-22
Animators:Alex Kekesi (GST) (Lead)
 Stuart A. Snodgrass (GST)
 Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC)
Scientist:Gene Feldman (NASA/GSFC)
Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets:Aqua/MODIS
 Terra/MODIS
 SeaStar/SeaWiFS/Sea Surface Temperature
Data Collected:07/04/2002 - 10/23/2006
Series:Ocean Productivity
Goddard TV Tape:G2007-001HD -- NASA's HD Climate Change Resource Tape
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
More Information on this topic available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/warm_marine.html
DEPC Metadata is available in
sstmodis-1024.depc
sstmodis-2048.depc
Science paper:'Climate-Driven Trends in Contemporary Ocean Productivity', Nature, Dec. 7
 
 
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (http://www.geoeye.com).

Data provided by: Norman Kuring (NASA/GSFC)


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