Satellite Image of Ocean Chlorophyll
OceansPhysical EnvironmentConcentrations of chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton, tiny, floating plants that are an important part of the ocean's food chain. When phytoplankton grow in large numbers they make the ocean appear greenish.
NASAA map shows global ocean chlorophyll distribution, with the lowest levels in red, covering vast open oceans. The highest levels in pink are near productive coastal regions, such as the coasts of Mauritania, Senegal, and parts of the Arabian Sea.
Areas with the lowest concentration of chlorophyll, ranging from 0.000 to 0.029 milligrams per cubic meter, are marked in very light green and include regions in North Atlantic Ocean to the north-east of Cuba. Regions with 0.030 to 0.099 milligrams per cubic meter, shown in light green, are primarily found in the subtropical gyres of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and some areas in the Indian Ocean. The 0.100 to 0.299 milligrams per cubic meter regions, highlighted in medium green, include coastal areas around continents like the western coast of the United States, parts of the Mediterranean Sea, areas around the Philippines and Japan, and the South Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. The 0.300 to 0.999 milligrams per cubic meter zones, marked in dark green, encompass parts of the North Atlantic Ocean near the United Kingdom and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as regions near Indonesia and northern Australia. Very dark green areas, indicating 1.000 to 2.999 milligrams per cubic meter, are found along the western coast of South America near Peru, and west coastal regions of Africa. It also includes western coastal regions of Alaska, eastern coast of Canada, and North coast of Europe and Russia. Regions with 3.000 to 9.999 milligrams per cubic meter, shown in darkest green, include areas near the mouths of major rivers like the Amazon and the Congo. It is also found in regions near Sweden and Estonia. The highest concentration areas, 10.000 to 29.999 milligrams per cubic meter, marked in brown, and 30.000 to 59.999 milligrams per cubic meter, highlighted in pink, are located in highly productive coastal and upwelling regions such as the coasts of Mauritania, Senegal, and parts of the Arabian Sea near Yemen and Oman
Satellite Image of Ocean Chlorophyll | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.030 - 0.099 mg / m³ | 0.100 - 0.299 mg / m³ | 0.300 - 0.999 mg / m³ | 1.000 - 2.999 mg / m³ | 3.000 - 9.999 mg / m³ | 10.000 - 29.999 mg / m³ | |
| 26.0% | 14.2% | 4.15% | 2.05% | |||
| 14.7% | 9.16% | 55.2% | 3.26% | 47.5% | 36.7% | |
| 2.01% | ||||||
| 1.77% | 5.49% | 2.85% | ||||
| 1.11% | ||||||
| 7.98% | 4.52% | 8.28% | 7.07% | 2.70% | 5.17% | |
| 2.92% | 3.07% | 3.76% | ||||
| 100% | 59.6% | 2.26% | 3.18% | |||
| 2.13% | 1.03% | |||||
| 100% | 6.13% | |||||
| 1.49% | 6.45% | 5.50% | 1.98% | |||
| 1.59% | 5.44% | |||||
| 92.2% | 2.14% | 2.31% | 2.55% | 1.21% | ||