| NASA Center: |
Headquarters |
|---|
| Image # : |
89-HC-311 |
|---|
| Date : |
6/1980
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|---|
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Title
First Composite Image of the Global Biosphere
Full Description
This first image of the global biosphere which was produced by
combining data from two different satellite sensors show for the
first time the productive potential of the Earth's vegetative
biomass. The ocean image is a composite of all data collected
during the 20-month period from November 1978 through June
1980 by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) flown on
NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite, managed by the Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. The CZCS data show concentrations
of marine phytoplankton pigment. Phytoplanktons, the
microscopic plants that grow in the sunlight regions of the ocean,
form the base of the marine food web. Red and orange colors
indicate areas of high plankton concentrations. Yellow and green
represent areas of moderate concentration.
One of the most notable features in this image is the clear
delineation of the equator through increased plant abundance, and
the differences between the equatorial Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific
Oceans. Plankton concentrations tend to be high nutrients to the
sunlit upper ocean layers. Major areas of the South Pacific are
blank (black areas=no data) because the CZCS could operate only
intermittently. The land-vegetation image is a composite of three
years of data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
(AVHRR) on the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Agency (NOAA-7) satellite, which measured land-surface radiation
in the visible and near-infrared bands to estimate chlorophyll and
leaf potential for chlorophyll production. The lighter shades of
green highlight tropical and subtropical forests, temperate forests
and farmlands, and some drier regions such as savannas and
pampas. The yellow shades in the United States Midwest show
lower potential, while the darker yellow shades of Northern
Hemisphere forests and the dry Australian Outback rank lower.
Desert, high mountains, and arctic regions reflect barren conditions,
intermittently.
The land-vegetation image is a composite of three years of data
from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
on the NOAA-7 satellite, which measures land-surface radiation in
the visible and near-infrared bands to estimate chlorophyll and leaf
mass. The dark green areas (rain forests) show the highest
potential for chlorophyll production. The lighter shades of green
highlight tropical and subtropical forests, temperate forests and
farmlands and some drier regions such as savannas and pampas.
The yellow shades in the United States Midwest show lower
potential, while the darker yellow shade of Northern Hemisphere
forests and the dry Australian Outback rank lower. Desserts, high
mountains, and arctic regions reflect barren conditions.
Keywords
Global Biosphere Earth Science Advanced Very High Resolution
Radiometer AVHRR Coastal Zone Color Scanner CZCS NOAA
Subject Category
Earth Science
Reference Numbers
- Center:
HQ
- Center Number:
89-HC-311
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2003-00027
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NASA
- Original Source: DIGITAL
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
JPEG |
90 |
72 |
19 |
Small |
JPEG |
640 |
512 |
259 |
Medium |
JPEG |
1500 |
1200 |
949 |
Large |
JPEG |
3000 |
2400 |
3,112 |
Other relevant NASA Web sites:
• NASA Headquarters
• NASA History Office
• NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
• NASA Multimedia Gallery
• NASA Human Spaceflight
Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn. Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
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