The SeaWiFS Ocean Color Instrument has 8 visible to near-infrared wavelength sensors from 402 to 880 nm chosen primarily to detect chlorophyll. In the image on the previous page, areas of high productivity are green, and red. Low productivity areas are yellow and brown. A striking feature is the green band in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In an El Niño year there is strong upwelling of cold-water rich in nutrients. This forms the basis of a rich food chain that starts with tiny Phyto plankton, and proceeds to small krill, and continues to normal sized fish and on to the large tuna, sharks, and even giant whale sharks and whales. You can also see the rich high latitude ocean areas like the Gulf of Alaska that draw whale migration. Overly rich eutrophic dead zones like the one off the Mississippi Delta appear as red.
Figure 96: Computer Simulation Animation of World Ocean Currents (LANL)
Global Ocean Current Simulation:
In the next image, we see a Los Alamos Labs global ocean current simulation that does not come from space born observations. However, it gives another window on what is going on in the planet’s oceans. Higher speed currents are lighter green, yellow and red.
You can see the animation at:
https://youtu.be/alKBoVjeyYM
Some of the outstanding and fascinating features of the currents are as follows:
1) The Gulf Stream starting south of the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, shooting the gap between Cuba and Yucatan forming the loop current in the Gulf of Mexico, shooting the gap between Cuba and Florida and continuing up the East Coast of the US and finally as giant eddies across the Atlantic to Europe. Ships take advantage of the fast 4 mile/hour current to speed travel up the East Coast, but the most important effect of the warm Gulf Stream is the moderation (warming) of the climate of Europe. Europe is at such a high latitude that it would be much colder without the Gulf Stream.
2) The complimentary Agulhas Current starting North of Madagascar, passing though the gap between West Africa and Madagascar, continuing down the West Coast of Africa and splitting off across the Southern Indian Ocean and the roaring forties south of Australia and around the whole planet.
3) The Labrador Current going from North to South, passing between Greenland and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The Labrador Current transported the infamous iceberg from the Arctic into the North Atlantic where it was struck by the Titanic Ocean Liner in April of 1912.
4) The Indonesian Throughflow manifests itself as numerous high-speed currents shooting the gaps between islands of the Indonesian Archipelago. It is an ocean current with importance for global climate since it provides a low-latitude pathway for warm, fresh water to move from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean and this serves as the upper branch of the global heat conveyor belt. (Wikipedia). The source of this current also has a Northern branch which serves to moderate the climate of Japan.
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Figure 98 Computer Simulation of Atlantic Ocean Currents (LANL)
Description of Atlantic Ocean Current Simulation
In this animation, the colors represent ocean temperature with blue being cold and red hot. Again, we have the warm Gulf Stream starting south of the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, shooting the gap between the Cuba and Yucatan forming the loop current in the Gulf of Mexico, shooting the gap between Cuba and Florida and continuing up the East Coast of the US. The point here is that if the loop current were to have extended further North into the Gulf or if the oil spill shown in Fig. 93 had drifted further South, the Gulf stream would have carried the oil between Florida and Cuba and polluted beaches far up the East Coast of the US.
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Figure 111: Zoom to SLC 2002 Winter Olympics, 2002
(GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio)
Here is the first frame of a zoom by the Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio to the 2002 Winter Olympics, that was shown during the opening and closing ceremonies.
The 720 X 480 Version of the zoom starting out in space and zooming in to the Rice Eccles Stadium site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
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2017: GOES 16 Ushers in a new Era in Geosynchronous Weather Satellites
November 19, 2016, NOAA launched GOES 16. From small beginnings 50 years ago, over 45 geosynchronous weather satellites have been launched by many countries: US 18, Europe 10, Japan 8, India 9.
Note The following Figures are single frames from animations.
Figure 152: GOES 16 - The First True Color Image from GEO in 50 Years
January 15, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at at the link:
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GOES 16 observes the Full Earth Disk, a Continental US Sector and a Storm Sector in 16 bands all at the same time. For the first time since 1967 a geosynchronous satellite gives us true color in the visible: Red (.86 µm) Green (.64 µm) Blue (.47 µm) see Figs. 146 and 153 and in addition 13 channels in the infrared going from the near IR at 1.37 µm thru the window channel at 11.2 µm to the far IR at 13.3 µm (lower image)
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Figure 155: GOES 16 IR Observations of a Severe Thunderstorm System, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at at the link:
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Figure 156: GOES 16 Visible Observations of a Severe Thunderstorm System, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at the link:
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Figure 157: GOES 16 Visible Observations of a Severe Thunderstorm System, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at at the link:
Figure 158: GOES 16 Lightning Data Mapped onto Visible Band Data, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at the link:
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Figure 159: GOES 16 True Color of Thunderstorms on the Florida Peninsula, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at the link:
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Figure 160: GOES 16 Full Disk, CONUS and Storm Sector Visualization, 2017 (NASA/NOAA Image)
You can view this animation from Drop Box at:
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Figure 165: Arctic Sea Ice Melt 2007 – January, First Movie Frame (Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio)
Take a look an animation of the melting Arctic Sea Ice (North Pole) from space: January to September 2007: