This episode is about how satellite technology is being used to study a big chunk of the earth’s surface. Seventy percent of the earth comprises water but we know very little about it. Color sensors aboard some satellites can actually reveal a lot about phytoplankton or microalgae blooms that are linked to ocean temperatures. These tiny organisms contribute to half the photosynthesis on the planet.

Scientist Charles McClain has done such investigations. More importantly he has traced a technological evolution too having been in this sphere since the 1970s. In this interview McClain talks about path breaking research that he became a part of in the late 1970s and how he collaborated with biologists and space scientists for this.

This episode was produced by Anupama Chandrasekaran and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.