Images
August 26, 2022 - Blooming Lake Ontario
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The waters of Lake Ontario were awash with swirls of blues and greens on August 24, 2022, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
These startling colors mark massive floating blooms of tiny plant-like organisms, most likely a mix of algae and the microscopic marine algae called phytoplankton. Both of these plant-like organisms contain chlorophyll and other pigments that can create beautiful colors when present in large numbers. The swirls and eddies show where the masses of floating organisms are carried by currents and buffeted by winds that blow across the surface of the lake. Some of the lighter tints may contain sediment carried off the coast by runoff or churned up from the shallow floors of Lake Erie.
Blooms of algae and the smaller phytoplankton are a regular occurrence in the great lakes, usually starting to emerge in June and July as warming waters encourage abundant growth. By August and September, the colors (and numbers of organisms) typically reach their peak.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/24/2022
Resolutions:
1km (312.5 KB), 500m (920.5 KB), 250m (2.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The waters of Lake Ontario were awash with swirls of blues and greens on August 24, 2022, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
These startling colors mark massive floating blooms of tiny plant-like organisms, most likely a mix of algae and the microscopic marine algae called phytoplankton. Both of these plant-like organisms contain chlorophyll and other pigments that can create beautiful colors when present in large numbers. The swirls and eddies show where the masses of floating organisms are carried by currents and buffeted by winds that blow across the surface of the lake. Some of the lighter tints may contain sediment carried off the coast by runoff or churned up from the shallow floors of Lake Erie.
Blooms of algae and the smaller phytoplankton are a regular occurrence in the great lakes, usually starting to emerge in June and July as warming waters encourage abundant growth. By August and September, the colors (and numbers of organisms) typically reach their peak.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/24/2022
Resolutions:
1km (312.5 KB), 500m (920.5 KB), 250m (2.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
