Satellite data on primary productivity in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

Satellite data on primary productivity in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The concentration of chlorophyll in the water was used as the measure.

During the 1997–1998 El Niño episode, a massive amount of nutrient-poor water moved to the east, and so photosynthetic activity was negligible.

(b) During a subsequent La Niña episode, massive upwelling and westward displacement of nutrient-rich water led to a vast algal bloom that stretched all the way to the coast of Peru.



A Near-absence of phytoplankton in B Huge algal bloom in the equatorial the equatorial Pacific during an El Nino. Pacific in the La Nina rebound event.