Measuring the color of the seas from satellites and the fun science that follows

Dr. Cara Wilson, NOAA's Environmental Research Division By literally detecting the color of the ocean from satellites, scientists can measure and monitor the amount of chlorophyll at the surface of the ocean, which represents the base of the oceanic food chain. we now have a 14 year record of global satellite measurement of sea surface chlorophyll, a data set that has transformed the field of biological oceanography. In this lecture, a brief overview of the science results from this dataset will be presented, as well as some of the work involving satellite ocean color data that is being done at NOAA's Environmental Research Division in Pacific Grove, the location of Ray Troll's "Green Seas, Blue Seas" mural.