Using Icebox to View and Explore Satellite Images of the Gulf of Maine

A Web-based system using satellite imagery for studying changes in chlorophyll and sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Maine is described. The system was created by combining the image composite editor (ICE), a simple web-based visualization and analysis tool developed for the NASA Earth Observatory, with a data processing stream used by the Coastal Ocean Observing Center at the University of New Hampshire. The system, called ICEbox, provides easy access to a suite of historical and near-real time images from the MODIS sensor aboard NASA´s TERRA and AQUA satellites. This paper demonstrates a method for getting timely and important research-quality data into the classroom that is easily reproducible by projects that use remotely-sensed data.