GGR Chlorophyll Concentration in North Atlantic

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What do you notice about how the line changes?

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What does the x-axis show? What do you think the letters along the bottom represent?

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Now that you see time, what patterns do you notice?

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Chlorophyll Concentration (mg/m³)

What measurement does the y-axis show? What do you think it means?

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Background Information

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Chlorophyll Concentration (mg/m³)

Describe how chlorophyll levels change throughout the year.

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NASA Earth Observatory. (2015, April 17). Phytoplankton bloom in the North Atlantic Ocean [Satellite image]. NASA Visible Earth. https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/images/133044/phytoplankton-bloom-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean/133047l

Phytoplankton under a microscope

Phytoplankton are tiny ocean organisms that contain chlorophyll, the green pigment used in photosynthesis to make glucose (food) from sunlight. The chlorophyll concentration tells scientists how much phytoplankton is in the water. Phytoplankton need sunlight and nutrients to grow. Sunlight increases in spring and summer as days get longer. Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus rise in surface waters during winter and early spring when storms and cold water mix the ocean layers. As surface waters warm in summer, mixing decreases, and fewer nutrients reach the surface, so chlorophyll levels drop. This pattern leads to spring blooms, large increases in phytoplankton growth, especially in the North Atlantic, where sunlight and nutrient conditions align in spring. These blooms are vital because phytoplankton form the base of the marine food web and help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.