OCEAN COLOR FROM SPACE

Western Boundary Currents

The boundaries of the Gulf Stream off the U.S. East Coast (left) and of the Kuroshio Current off Japan (right) are revealed by the color shift between the low pigment waters of the currents and the higher concentrations in adjacent continental shelf or slope waters. These images were derived from all CZCS data collected between November 1978 - June 1986. Note warm-core rings with low pigment concentration and cold-core with higher pigments along the northern and southern Gulf Stream boundaries, respectively.