Back to album

First Composite Image of the Global Biosphere

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.

 

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. Deserts, high mountains, and arctic regions reflect barren conditions.

 

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

 

Credit: NASA

Image Number: GPN-2003-00027

Date: June 1, 1980

92,002 views
23 faves
0 comments
Uploaded on November 19, 2019
Taken on June 1, 1980