A decade of phytoplankton blooms in the North Pacific

Monthly average chlorophyll concentrations (milligrams per cubic meter of water) in the North Pacific from July 2002 through July 2015, based on observations from the NASA/NOAA Suomi-NPP satellite. Like plants on land, tiny marine plants called phytoplankton use chlorophyll for photosynthesis. Animation by NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab.