December 21, 2007 - Florida

Florida

Sediment and bright green phytoplankton color the waters on the shore of the state of Florida. This image was captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on December 17, 2007. Phytoplankton are tiny marine organisms that, much like their land-based plant relatives, use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into food.

There are several fires on the image, marked with red dots. One, near Lake Okeechobee (the nearly round dark patch insouthern central Florida), has a smoke plume rising from it.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 12/17/2007
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC