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Ocean Color

The Giovanni-NEO Instructional Cookbook: East Australia Current

East Australia Current: If you're trying to find Nemo, the East Australia Current can get you to Sydney - maybe East Australia Current SST image with transect

Data Sets for this Chapter

  • MODIS chlorophyll
  • MODIS sea surface temperature (SST)

Visualizations for this Chapter

  • Area Plot with Customized Color Scale (Giovanni)
  • Transect Plot (NEO)

Location Map and Coordinates

East Australia Current location image East Australia Current latitude longitude coordinates

Step-by-Step

Refer to the pages for Giovanni functions and NEO functions if you are unfamiliar with the functions described below.

Area Plot with Customized Color Scale: Giovanni

  1. Select the area.
  2. Parameter: Chlorophyll a
  3. Plot Type: Lat-Lon Map, Time-Averaged
  4. Time Period: Begin Year - 2003; Begin Month - June; End Year - 2003; End Month - June (to select June 2003)
  5. Customized Color Scale: Min - 0.08; Max - 0.5
  6. Generate plot

East Australia Current, June 2003, chlorophyll

 

Area Plot with Customized Color Scale: Giovanni

  1. Select the area.
  2. Parameter: Sea Surface Temperature
  3. Plot Type: Lat-Lon Map, Time-Averaged
  4. Time Period: Begin Year - 2003; Begin Month - June; End Year - 2003; End Month - June (to select June 2003)
  5. Customized Color Scale: Min - 14; Max - 28
  6. Generate plot

East Australia Current, June 2003, sea surface temperature

Transect: NEO

  1. Select MODIS SST and MODIS chlorophyll for June 2003.
  2. Select the same area as for Giovanni, using the map or geographical coordinates above.
  3. Choose the "Plot Transect" option. Plot a transect similar to the one in the header. The result should look similar to the plot below.'

East Australia Current transect plot of chlorophyll and sea surface temperature

Extended Investigations

The East Australia Current flows south along the coast of Australia. A little north of the longitude of Sydney (33.5 degrees South), much of the flow of the current turns to the east, toward New Zealand, along the Tasman Front. Some of the flow of the current continues south, and can generate eddies, such as those seen in the images generated in this chapter.

In the animated movie "Finding Nemo", Marlin, Nemo's father, uses the East Australia Current as a fast way to get to Sydney (aided by some friendly sea turtles). In June 2003, there was a large eddy just east of Sydney, which can be seen in these plots. If Marlin was trying to get to Sydney this month, he might have been carried toward New Zealand along the Tasman Front, or caught in the circulation of the eddy. So this might not have been a good month to get to Sydney.

Using Giovanni and NEO, examine the variability of the Tasman Front and the eddies of the East Australia Current near Sydney monthly and seasonally, and determine if there are good months to get to Sydney via the East Australia Current.

 


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  • Last updated: February 14, 2008 20:35:29 GMT