Starship Asterisk*

The question refers to the 2006 Oct 1 Night Picture of Earth, http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061001.html. It seems that the images may contain unexpected information about the oceans encoded in the difference in brightness.

Do the lighter parts indicate luminous life forms, and the darker a lack of same? Is it related to clouds on the day the picture for each section was taken?