May 27, 2015 - Sea of Marmara, Turkey

Sea of Marmara, Turkey

A spring phytoplankton bloom colored the Sea of Marmara with brilliantly colored swirls of various shades of green in late May, 2015. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured this true-color image of the event on May 25.

The Sea of Marmara lies between Europe and Asia, and is connected to both the Black Sea, to the northeast and the Aegean Sea, in the southwest. Water flows from the Black Sea into the Sea of Marmara via the Bosporus and from the Sea of Marmara into the Aegean Sea through the Dardanelles. This pattern of water flow can be seen in this image, as a tendril of clear blue water cuts snakes through the northeastern section of the Sea, and inflow also is responsible for the swirling dark green/milky green pattern near the dark tendril. On the opposite side of the Marmara, phytoplankton-tinted water pours through the Dardanelles and into the Aegean.

Scientists have listed at least 168 different types of phytoplankton in the Sea of Marmara. However, the blooms tend to be extremely rich in a single, or only a few, predominant species. This sea has a three-phase phytoplankton bloom sequence. Diatoms tend to predominate in March, dinoflagellates in April, and the dramatically colorful blooms of Emiliana huxleyi predominate in May. This particular bloom is typical of E. huxleyi near peak bloom.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 5/25/2015
Resolutions: 500m (202 KB), 250m (502.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC