October 23, 2021 - Springtime on New Zealand's South Island
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Snow caps the spine of New Zealand’s Southern Alps as sun shines on the
springtime flush of green vegetation in late October 2021. The Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra
satellite acquired this true-color image on October 22.
The intense colors—ranging from deep brown to bright green to stark
white—give New Zealand’s South Island its intense beauty. The tall
peaks of the Southern Alps retain snow year-round and divide the
country into the extremely moist western shores and the dryer land east
of the mountains. The highest peak in New Zealand is Aoraki/Mount Cook,
which rises to 12,316 feet (3,754 meters).
Bright colors tint the waters of the Tasman Sea off the western coast.
These jewel-tones are the result of a bloom of small plant-like
organisms known as phytoplankton. Present in these waters year-round in
small numbers, when temperatures, sunlight length, and nutrient
availability are just right, the organisms reproduce explosively
creating huge blooms that can easily be seen from space.
Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 10/22/2021
Resolutions: 1km (440.4 KB), 500m (1.2 MB), 250m (2.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-10-23
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