OCEAN COLOR FROM SPACE: Upwelling Dynamics

Waters off Peru (left) and northwest Africa (right) are among the most productive in the global ocean.The Peru/Pacific composite covers 16-26 January 1980; the Africa/Atlantic composite 16 - 22 December 1979.Nutrients injected by wind-driven coastal upwelling result in high phytoplankton biomass and productivity; this supports some of the world's richest fisheries.The upwelling is reflected here as 100-km-wide chlorophyll-rich bands along both coasts, and plumes of productive waters extending 500 to 1,000 km offshore. Island-induced upwelling generates highly productive regions around the Galapagos Archipelago (left, center).