The following chlorophyll (Chl) times series show the Gulf of Maine, Nova Scotia in the upper right, and the coastal regions along New England. The colors represent phytoplankton pigment concentrations -- or "chlorophyll" in mg per cubic meter in surface waters according to the color scale shown on the left of each image. The reds and oranges are the highest levels, and the green, blues and purples are progressively lower. Images such as these allow us to estimate the amount of phytoplankton in the ocean -- and relate this information to biological productivity of the waters and the rate of photosynthesis that is carried out by the phytoplankton.

The 8-day image composites were derived from data gathered by the Sea-Viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument aboard the Orbview satellite. These images have a spatial resolution of ~1.1 km and were produced by averaging all the data for an eight day period. Because weather is often cloudy or foggy over the Gulf of Maine, averaging produces an image with more coverage than is possible on any given day.

The daily images were derived from data gathered by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Aqua Satellite and have a spatial resolution of 1000 m.

Please Note: Depending on the speed of your computer, it may take up to an minute for the time series to load.

SeaWiFS 8-day Composites of Chl

Jan - Jun 2004

SeaWiFS 8-day Composites of Chl

Jan - May 2005

SeaWiFS 8-day Composites of Chl

Jan - May 2004 & 2005

MODIS Daily Images

May - Jun 2005

Links to Other Time Series

Animated SST and Chl Images

MODIS Animated Time Series