MODIS - Terra
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
EUROPE
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Barents Sea
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Novaya Zemlya The blue-green swirls in the waters of the Barents Sea on the western coast of Novaya Zemlya could indicate a bloom of phytoplankton, or they could be highly reflective glacial silt resulting from run off. | ||
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Norway The brighter, turquoise swirls in the otherwise dark waters of the Barents Sea indicate the presence of a large phytoplankton bloom. | |
Black Sea
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Brightly colored waters in the Black Sea give evidence of the growth of phytoplankton. | |||
Denmark
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This true-color image shows the blues and greens of a phytoplankton bloom occurring in the North Sea, west of Denmark, the country on the peninsula in the center. The bright blue color may indicate a coccolithophore bloom. | ||
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Colorful blue and green waters in the North Sea (center) reveal a phytoplankton bloom. | ||
France
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Off the coast of France (bottom right) and the United Kingdom (top right), microscopic marine plants known as phytoplankton are blooming in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, coloring the ocean blue and green. The Bristol Channel, which separates England from Wales, appears filled with murky water. The tan color could be a mixture of sediment and organic matter flowing into the Channel from rivers and streams as well as material churned up by waves and tidal actions. | ||
Ireland
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Phytoplankton blooms are apparent as blue-green swirls to the west and south of Ireland. Also visible is the apparent heavy sediment in the Bristol Bay, southeast of center. | ||
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The Irish Sea, which separates Ireland from the United Kingdom, appears milky blue-green compared to the clearer waters of the open Atlantic. This milky appearance is likely due to the growth of phytoplankton. | ||
Italy
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Off the east coast of Italy, sediments brighten the coastal waters of the Adriatic Sea (right). The sediments may have been churned up by tides or may be the result of late-winter (almost spring) snow melt and run off from the mountainous terrain along the spine of the country. | |
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Phytoplankton bloom along the coasts of Sicily and Calabria, Italy. | |
Norway
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Rippling clouds of phytoplankton bloom off the southwestern side of Norway in the North Sea. | ||
Bay of Biscay
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Characteristic blue-green swirls of phytoplankton blooming in the Bay of Biscay, as well as another bloom, mostly obscured by clouds, to the east of Brittany in the upper left corner of the image. | |
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Off the coast of the Brittany region of France (north of center), a colorful phytoplankton bloom is occurring in the waters of the Bay of Biscay. The different colors can be due to different species of organisms as well as different concentrations. | |
Portugal
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A large, colorful phytoplankton bloom occurring in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal (left). | ||