Synergistic analysis of SeaWiFS chlorophyll concentration and NOAA-AVHRR SST features for exploring marine living resources

Near-synchronous Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) derived ch lorophyll concentration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) derived sea surfac e temperature (SST) images were used to understand patterns, persistence an d inter-relationship between ocean colour and thermal features. Different t ypes of oceanic features were observed on chlorophyll concentration and SST images. An inverse relationship between chlorophyll concentration and SST features was observed. The features observed in the chlorophyll concentrati on images were well defined and appeared to contained more information than those on the SST images. The frontal zone positions on the chlorophyll con centration images coincided with temperature boundaries at some locations. This coincidence indicates that the physical and bio-chemical processes are closely coupled at these locations. High fish catch points were found in t he vicinity of these features. A synergistic analysis of chlorophyll concen tration and SST may increase our understanding of the inter-relationship be tween environmental variables for locating potential fishing grounds.