A normal ocean in bloomIn this photo, you see an image of the ocean from the MODIS instrument on NAS

A normal ocean in bloomIn this photo, you see an image of the ocean from the MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite. MODIS is designed to take images at a variety of light wavelengths, one of which is tuned to allow for imaging of the growth of plankton in the ocean.This photo was taken off the coast of Iceland, in a highly productive area of the ocean. In this area, the warm waters from the Gulf Stream meet with cold waters from the Arctic Ocean to the northeast. This combination of waters supplies both nutrients and heat to the system, creating a situation where a variety of single-celled, planktonic organisms can thrive.The different colors here represent different types of plankton, including diatoms and milky white coccolithophores.This is the type of bloom that happens around the world in the ocean as spring and summer take hold, supplying the energy that these organisms need to grow.In the next post, you’re going to see another algal bloom, except the next one will look a lot different.-JBBImage credit: NASA/EOhttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81619 -- source link

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