Image of the week: Ocean colour 2024

Watching our Earth from space

This week’s image shows ocean colour in the Atlantic Ocean in 2024, as monitored by satellites such as the Copernicus Sentinel-3 series operated by EUMETSAT.

Last Updated

17 December 2025

Published on

17 December 2025

The green colour represents chlorophyll-a concentration, a key indicator of phytoplankton, which are microscopic marine algae that form the basis of marine food chains. More phytoplankton can mean more food for zooplankton, fish, and ultimately larger marine animals.

Phytoplankton also play a key role in sustaining life on Earth as they are responsible for producing over half of the world’s oxygen and they help regulate the climate as they absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.

Ocean colour image

The image is taken from a visualisation that shows a year of ocean colour around the world in 2024.

This new narrated visualisation captures seasonal shifts in phytoplankton blooms, nutrient-rich upwelling zones, and the swirling paths of major ocean currents that drive life in our oceans.

This data provides insight into the health and rhythms of Earth’s marine ecosystems — essential for climate research, fisheries, and understanding our changing planet.

More info

Find out how EUMETSAT monitors the oceans from space - https://www.eumetsat.int/what-we-monitor/ocean

Access marine data from EUMETSAT: https://user.eumetsat.int/data/themes/marine

Access Copernicus marine data: https://marine.copernicus.eu/

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Previous image of the week

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