Earth Science Gallery
2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES
Tape Title
Record ID
Date Produced
TRT:
Synopsis
GLOBAL PHYTOPLANKTON DECLINE G02-063 8/8/02 00:06:36 The lowest rung in the ocean food chain is shrinking. For the past 20 years (early 1980s to present), phytoplankton concentrations have dropped as much as 30 percent in some parts of the ocean. Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say warmer ocean temperatures and low winds may be depriving the tiny sea plants of necessary nutrients.
TAPE CONTENTS:
ITEM (1): Earth's Checkup - Satellite data shows that phytoplankton concentrations have declined substantially in northern oceans in the last 20 years. Scientists can monitor ocean and planetary health through phytoplankton. The whole ocean food chain depends on the health and productivity of phytoplankton, and a significant change in their numbers could indicate a shift in our climate. Phytoplankton consists of many diverse species of microscopic free-floating ocean plants that form the base of the ocean's food chain. These plants thrive on sunlight and nutrients. Limit either one and phytoplankton will not grow. This image from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument on board the Orbview-2 satellite shows the green clouds of phytoplankton pulsating around the globe. High phytoplankton concentrations are red and yellow.
Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (2): Phytoplankton Around The World - Phytoplankton concentrations have declined substantially in northern oceans since the early 1980s. This world map compares satellite data collected during the summer(July-September) between 1979 and 1986 and 1997 to 2000 and reflects the changes in phytoplankton concentrations over the last 20 years in the open ocean (away from the coast). Deep blues show the greatest loss of phytoplankton, yellow represents almost no change and browns, reds and oranges show phytoplankton increases. Black indicates that no data is available.
The second image shows a close-up of the North Pacific Ocean where summer phytoplankton concentrations have dropped by 30 percent (1979-2000). The third image is a close-up of the North Atlantic Ocean where summer phytoplankton concentrations during summer have dropped by 14 percent since the 1980s. The last image shows the color bar used in the preceding visualizations.
Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (3): Phytoplankton 1979 to 1986 - This image shows summer (July-September) phytoplankton concentrations from 1979 to 1986. The data was collected by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on board the Nimbus 7 spacecraft with additional sampling from ships and buoys in the open (away from the coast) ocean. CZCS is a predecessor to Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and was designed to monitor ocean color. Ocean color reflects varying concentrations of phytoplankton that absorb different levels of sunlight. The second image shows a close-up of the North Pacific Ocean and the third image shows a close-up of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (4): Phytoplankton 1997 to 2000 - This image shows summer (July-September) phytoplankton concentrations in the open ocean from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) from its launch in 1997 through 2000. SeaWiFS data is establishing a solid baseline for scientists to monitor global climate change related to phytoplankton. The second image shows a close-up of the North Pacific Ocean and the third image shows a close-up of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (5): SeaWiFS Spacecraft - Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) launched into space August 1, 1997, on board the Orbview 2 satellite. Its mission is to study ocean color from space. Ocean color reflects varying concentrations of phytoplankton that absorb different levels of sunlight.
Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE
[Earth's Checkup Movie]
NOTE: The material advertised on this page is a "Video File" and is strictly recommended for the media and production companies. This is NOT a finished production but does contain some narration.
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Earth Science Gallery
2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: | Synopsis |
| GLOBAL PHYTOPLANKTON DECLINE | G02-063 | 8/8/02 | 00:06:36 | The lowest rung in the ocean food chain is shrinking. For the past 20 years (early 1980s to present), phytoplankton concentrations have dropped as much as 30 percent in some parts of the ocean. Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say warmer ocean temperatures and low winds may be depriving the tiny sea plants of necessary nutrients. |
TAPE CONTENTS: |
||||
| ITEM (1): Earth's Checkup - Satellite data shows that phytoplankton concentrations have declined substantially in northern oceans in the last 20 years. Scientists can monitor ocean and planetary health through phytoplankton. The whole ocean food chain depends on the health and productivity of phytoplankton, and a significant change in their numbers could indicate a shift in our climate. Phytoplankton consists of many diverse species of microscopic free-floating ocean plants that form the base of the ocean's food chain. These plants thrive on sunlight and nutrients. Limit either one and phytoplankton will not grow. This image from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument on board the Orbview-2 satellite shows the green clouds of phytoplankton pulsating around the globe. High phytoplankton concentrations are red and yellow. Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (2): Phytoplankton Around The World - Phytoplankton concentrations have declined substantially in northern oceans since the early 1980s. This world map compares satellite data collected during the summer(July-September) between 1979 and 1986 and 1997 to 2000 and reflects the changes in phytoplankton concentrations over the last 20 years in the open ocean (away from the coast). Deep blues show the greatest loss of phytoplankton, yellow represents almost no change and browns, reds and oranges show phytoplankton increases. Black indicates that no data is available. The second image shows a close-up of the North Pacific Ocean where summer phytoplankton concentrations have dropped by 30 percent (1979-2000). The third image is a close-up of the North Atlantic Ocean where summer phytoplankton concentrations during summer have dropped by 14 percent since the 1980s. The last image shows the color bar used in the preceding visualizations. Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (3): Phytoplankton 1979 to 1986 - This image shows summer (July-September) phytoplankton concentrations from 1979 to 1986. The data was collected by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on board the Nimbus 7 spacecraft with additional sampling from ships and buoys in the open (away from the coast) ocean. CZCS is a predecessor to Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and was designed to monitor ocean color. Ocean color reflects varying concentrations of phytoplankton that absorb different levels of sunlight. The second image shows a close-up of the North Pacific Ocean and the third image shows a close-up of the North Atlantic Ocean. Credit: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (4): Phytoplankton 1997 to 2000 - This image shows summer (July-September) phytoplankton concentrations in the open ocean from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) from its launch in 1997 through 2000. SeaWiFS data is establishing a solid baseline for scientists to monitor global climate change related to phytoplankton. The second image shows a close-up of the North Pacific Ocean and the third image shows a close-up of the North Atlantic Ocean. Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (5): SeaWiFS Spacecraft - Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) launched into space August 1, 1997, on board the Orbview 2 satellite. Its mission is to study ocean color from space. Ocean color reflects varying concentrations of phytoplankton that absorb different levels of sunlight. Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
[Earth's Checkup Movie]
NOTE: The material advertised on this page is a "Video File" and is strictly recommended for the media and production companies. This is NOT a finished production but does contain some narration.
[HOME] [Return to the Earth Science Catalog] [How to order videotapes]