November 3, 2021 - Phytoplankton Bloom off South America
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As autumn brings chilly weather, shortening sunlight, and color changes
to the landscape of the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere
moves into springtime. South of the equator the months from September
through December bring lengthening daylight and warming air and sea
surface temperatures that also bring color changes, such as this
jewel-toned bloom spreading across the South Atlantic Ocean.
On November 1, 2021, swirling clouds parted to reveal swirls of dull
blues and greens gracing the ocean east of southern South America and
southeast of the Falkland Islands. The Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a
true-color image of the scene that same day. It appears that
southern-most clouds obscure a swath of brighter blue bloom.
Phytoplankton are tiny, plant-like organisms that float near the ocean
surface and turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen. In
turn, they become food for the grazing zooplankton, shellfish, and
finfish of the sea. They also play an important role in the global
carbon cycle, taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sinking
it to the bottom of the ocean. Phytoplankton live in these waters
year-round, but not in large enough colonies to be viewed from space.
When conditions are right, they can burst into explosive reproduction
to create large floating blooms which can cover many miles of the
ocean’s surface.
Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 11/1/2021
Resolutions: 1km (4.3 MB), 500m (10.2 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=2021-11-03
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