Principles of Environmental Science 8th Edition by William Cunningham,Mary Cunningham

Exercise 17

Figure 5.15 shows chlorophyll (plant growth) in oceans and on land. Explain why green, photosynthesizing organisms occur in bands at the equator and along the edges of continents. Explain the very dark green areas and yellow/orange areas on the continents.
FIGURE 5.15: Satellite measurements of chlorophyll levels in the oceans and on land. Dark green to blue land areas have high biological productivity. Dark blue oceans have little chlorophyll and are biologically impoverished. Light green to yellow ocean zones are biologically rich. SOURCE: SeaWiFS/NASA.