Five Year Mean Surface Chlorophyll Estimates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico for 2005 through 2009

Published by Office for Coastal Management | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 02, 2026 at 11:32 PM | Dataset Last Updated: May 01, 2012 at 12:00 AM

These images were created by combining the mean surface chlorophyll estimates to produce seasonal representations for winter, spring, summer and fall. Winter includes the months of January, February and March; spring includes the months of April, May and June; summer includes the months of July, August and September; fall includes the months of October, November and December. Estimates of surface chlorophyll concentration were originally obtained from the Naval Research Laboratory at the Stennis Space Center (NRL/SSC). NRL/SSC processed MODIS-Aqua satellite imagery covering the Gulf of Mexico, for a 5-year time period from January 2005 through December 2009. The Gulf of Mexico was divided into three regions, western, central and eastern. For purposes of this image, the three regions were joined in ArcMAP 10. The surface chlorophyll estimates were determined using the OC3 algorithm for MODIS (O'Reilly et al., 2000). These estimates were then reclassified into phytoplankton productivity categories in accordance with the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS). There are three CMECS categories under this parameter: oligotrophic (< 5 ug/L), mesotrophic (5 - < 50 ug/L), and eutrophic (> 50 ug/L). The mean surface concentrations for the northern Gulf of Mexico only fall into two of the three categories, oligotrophic (shown as blue) and mesotrophic (shown as green).

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https://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/website/DataAtlas/atlas.htm?plate=Productivity%20-%20CMECS

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https://service.ncddc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/DataAtlas/CMECS_Chlorophyll_Spring/MapServer

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https://service.ncddc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/DataAtlas/CMECS_Chlorophyll_Fall/MapServer

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https://service.ncddc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/DataAtlas/CMECS_Chlorophyll_Summer/MapServer

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https://service.ncddc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/DataAtlas/CMECS_Chlorophyll_Winter/MapServer

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GCMD Keyword Forum Page

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Full Metadata Record

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NOAA Office for Coastal Management Website

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Complete Metadata

@type	dcat:Dataset
accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "NOAA Office for Coastal Management", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:coastal.info@noaa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	These images were created by combining the mean surface chlorophyll estimates to produce seasonal representations for winter, spring, summer and fall. Winter includes the months of January, February and March; spring includes the months of April, May and June; summer includes the months of July, August and September; fall includes the months of October, November and December. Estimates of surface chlorophyll concentration were originally obtained from the Naval Research Laboratory at the Stennis Space Center (NRL/SSC). NRL/SSC processed MODIS-Aqua satellite imagery covering the Gulf of Mexico, for a 5-year time period from January 2005 through December 2009. The Gulf of Mexico was divided into three regions, western, central and eastern. For purposes of this image, the three regions were joined in ArcMAP 10. The surface chlorophyll estimates were determined using the OC3 algorithm for MODIS (O'Reilly et al., 2000). These estimates were then reclassified into phytoplankton productivity categories in accordance with the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS). There are three CMECS categories under this parameter: oligotrophic (< 5 ug/L), mesotrophic (5 - < 50 ug/L), and eutrophic (> 50 ug/L). The mean surface concentrations for the northern Gulf of Mexico only fall into two of the three categories, oligotrophic (shown as blue) and mesotrophic (shown as green).
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identifier	https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nos/ocm/iso/xml/48036.xml
issued	2012-05-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS", "EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE/MANAGEMENT", "EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS", "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > ALABAMA", "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > FLORIDA", "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > LOUISIANA", "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > MISSISSIPPI", "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > TEXAS", "OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > GULF OF AMERICA", "Chlorophyll", "Phytoplankton", "Productivity", "Epipelagic", "Pelagic", "Sea surface", "Water column", "Environmental Monitoring", "Alabama", "Gulf of Mexico", "Louisiana", "Mississippi", "Texas", "Western Florida", "DOC/NOAA/NOS/OCM > Office of Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "GulfRegion" ]
landingPage	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/48036
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2012-05-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "Office for Coastal Management", "@type": "org:Organization" }
rights	otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial	-81.1,25.2,-98.1,30.9
temporal	2005-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/2009-12-01T00:00:00+00:00
theme	[ "geospatial" ]
title	Five Year Mean Surface Chlorophyll Estimates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico for 2005 through 2009

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