By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing (or using the sun's energy). A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. Until now, scientists have only had a continuous record of photosynthesis on land. But following three years of continual data collected by the SeaWiFS instrument, NASA has gathered the first record of photosynthetic productivity in the oceans. Credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio)
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