Images
November 18, 2009 - Phytoplankton Bloom off Chile
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Jewel-toned waters swirled in the Pacific Ocean off the Chilean coast on November 10, 2009. The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture the same day. Blue-green-hued water appears both north and south of Punta Lavapié.
Blooms of phytoplankton—tiny, plant-like marine organisms that thrive in nutrient-rich cold water—color the ocean water. A recent wind event in the region might have stirred nutrients, making such a bloom more likely. The chalk-like scales that cover a kind of phytoplankton called coccolithophores could account for some areas of brighter color. Although suspended sediment can also lend ocean water a pale hue, the continental shelf in this region is steep, leading to deep water just off the coast, and so the pale blue-green tones in this image probably don’t result from sediment.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 11/10/2009
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Jewel-toned waters swirled in the Pacific Ocean off the Chilean coast on November 10, 2009. The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture the same day. Blue-green-hued water appears both north and south of Punta Lavapié.
Blooms of phytoplankton—tiny, plant-like marine organisms that thrive in nutrient-rich cold water—color the ocean water. A recent wind event in the region might have stirred nutrients, making such a bloom more likely. The chalk-like scales that cover a kind of phytoplankton called coccolithophores could account for some areas of brighter color. Although suspended sediment can also lend ocean water a pale hue, the continental shelf in this region is steep, leading to deep water just off the coast, and so the pale blue-green tones in this image probably don’t result from sediment.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 11/10/2009
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
