SeaWiFS Captures Three Years of the Carbon Cycle

  • Released Monday, March 12, 2001
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By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon.

Until now, scientists have only had a continuous record of photosynthesis on land. But following three years of continual data collected by the SeaWiFS instrument, NASA has gathered the first record of photosynthetic productivity in the oceans. By taking three years of continuous data as a whole, experts have been able to map trends and anomalies in the global circulation of carbon to a degree of detail than has never been done before. It is a baseline measurement to by which all future measurements will be compared.

The SeaWiFS instrument looks at the world oceans
and land to observe the plant life and phytoplankton, here we see
a connection with the cycle of the ocean and land with the cycle of
Carbon in the atmosphere.

This image shows a CO2 graph overlayed on the Earth, giving a timescale, from 1000 years to the year 2000.

This image shows a CO2 graph overlayed on the Earth, giving a timescale, from 1000 years to the year 2000.

This image is showing the last 50 years, when the Industry age of the 20th century took off.

This image is showing the last 50 years, when the Industry age of the 20th century took off.

This image with graph shows the past 3 years overlayed a seawifs Biosphere.

This image with graph shows the past 3 years overlayed a seawifs Biosphere.

This image shows the graph in red with the SeaWiFS biosphere behind it. Which shows the growth of CO2.

This image shows the graph in red with the SeaWiFS biosphere behind it. Which shows the growth of CO2.

This image is the middle of the animation, which shows the growth of CO2.

This image is the middle of the animation, which shows the growth of CO2.

Video slate image reads, "The SeaWiFS intstrument looks at the world oceans and land to observe the plant life and phytoplankton, here we see a connection with the cycled of the ocean and land with the cycle of Carbon in the atmosphere."

Video slate image reads, "The SeaWiFS intstrument looks at the world oceans and land to observe the plant life and phytoplankton, here we see a connection with the cycled of the ocean and land with the cycle of Carbon in the atmosphere."

For More Information

See http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20010327colors_of_life.html

Credits

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 (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become DigitalGlobe).

This page was originally published on Monday, March 12, 2001.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:58 PM EDT.

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Datasets used

  • [SeaStar: SeaWiFS]

    ID: 100
    Sensor: SeaWiFS Dates used: 1997/09/20 - 2000/09/20

    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

    Credit: 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 (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become one DigitalGlobe.).

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