GEOSC 040
Comparing Productivity and Water Conditions between Earth’s Poles and Equator
Part I: Use the Live Access Server to make a map of chlorophyll concentration across the global ocean.
Figure 1. Map of chlorophyll concentration across the global ocean for October, 2005
Part II: Use the Live Access Server to make plots of chlorophyll concentration versus latitude and sea surface temperature versus latitude
Fill in the table with your longitudes as you make your plots.
Figure 2. Line plot of chlorophyll concentration along longitude 29.4 W, for the Southern Hemisphere.
Figure 3. Line plot of chlorophyll concentration along longitude 50.5 W, for the Northern Hemisphere.
Figure 4. Line plot of sea surface temperature along longitude 29.4 W, for the Southern Hemisphere.
Figure 5. Line plot of sea surface temperature along longitude 50.5 W, for the Northern Hemisphere.
Part III: Analysis
Using the figures that you’ve created, answer the following questions. Please type your answers in complete sentences. Do not type full paragraphs, you only need to write one or two sentences to answer these questions.
Analysis/Discussion Questions:
1) What are the units of chlorophyll concentration that are used in the map and your line plots?
2) Compare the chlorophyll plots for the northern and southern hemispheres.
a) In the northern hemisphere, over what range of latitudes is the chlorophyll concentration highest? What is the average concentration within this range?
b) In the southern hemisphere, over what range of latitudes is the chlorophyll concentration highest? What is the average concentration within this range?
c) Between 60N and 60S (so over both plots) where does the highest chlorophyll concentration occur (give range of latitudes)? What is the concentration?
4) Compare the plots of chlorophyll and surface temperature between each location.
a) Where are the surface temperatures lowest in the northern hemisphere? Where are
they highest? Is this trend the same in the southern hemisphere?
b) Do low water temperatures mostly correlate to high or low chlorophyll concentrations at the same latitudes? Is there anywhere that this trend is not true?
5. Refer to what you know of nutrient supply, chlorophyll concentration, ocean productivity, and the conditions needed for photosynthesis and plankton blooms (the background information above, lecture notes, etc.). Do the trends of chlorophyll concentrations and seawater temperature make sense? Based on your observations, and assuming that things are constant from year to year, which areas of the Pacific Ocean would fish most likely visit in Oct.?
