Earth 1997-2017

From CBS News:

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Our most complete picture of life on Earth is coming into focus, as a stunning new NASA time-lapse video crams 20 years into just a few minutes.

It is helping scientists learn a lot more about global warming and how the earth is changing.

"It's one of a kind. It's never been done before and so being able to capture land, ocean, atmosphere, ice, over 20 years together — it's insanely cool," NASA oceanographer Dr. Jeremy Werdell told CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.

In 1997 NASA launched the satellite which recorded the images, allowing them to track life on earth through the subsequent 20 years. 
 
"Bottom line, what are you seeing, the planet getting warmer over these 20 years?" Reid asked. 

"Absolutely," Werdell said. He said the data points help show how our planet is changing.
 
"Generally speaking, ocean levels are rising. Now they rise slowly, it's like watching ice cubes melt in a glass of soda," Werdell said.

What's causing the changes in color in the map are umpteen microscopic creatures called phytoplankton.

It's complicated, but one way to think about all this is that by keeping track of the phytoplankton in the oceans, scientists have an early warning system on what's happening to the earth as it heats up.