Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Phytoplankton Bloom off Namibia
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Published November 22, 2007
A flash of blue and green lit the waters off Namibia in early November 2007 as a phytoplankton bloom grew and faded in the Atlantic Ocean. The bloom stretches from north to south along hundreds of kilometers, though it is brightest in the center of this image. Such blooms are common in the coastal waters off southwest Africa where cold, nutrient-rich currents sweep north from Antarctica and interact with the coastal shelf. At the same time, the easterly trade winds push surface water away from the shore, allowing water from the ocean’s floor to rise to the surface, bringing with it iron and other material. The suffusion of nutrients from both the currents and upwelling water creates an environment where tiny surface-dwelling ocean plants (phytoplankton) thrive.
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Bloom in the Barents Sea
Published August 3, 2007
A break in the clouds provided a window to a brilliant display of color in the Barents Sea north off Norway on August 1, 2007. The bright aquamarine hues suggest that this is likely a coccolithophore bloom.
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Hydrogen Sulfide Eruption off Namibia
Published July 30, 2007
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North Atlantic Bloom
Published July 17, 2007
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Published July 3, 2007
Reminiscent of the distinctive swirls in a Van Gogh painting, millions of microscopic plants color the waters of the North Atlantic with strokes of blue, turquoise, green, and brown. Fed by nutrients that have built up during the winter and the long, sunlit days of late spring and early summer, the cool waters of the North Atlantic come alive every year with a vivid display of color. The microscopic plants, called phytoplankton, that give the water this color are the base of the marine food chain.
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Phytoplankton Bloom in the Great Australian Bight
Published January 17, 2007
Ocean plants color the water of the Great Australian Bight off the shore of Victoria, Australia, in this photo-like Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image, taken by NASA’s Terra satellite on January 11, 2007.
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Phytoplankton Bloom off Argentina
Published December 20, 2006
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Phytoplankton Blooms in the Black Sea
Published June 26, 2006
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Phytoplankton off Vancouver Island
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Phytoplankton Bloom off Ireland
Published June 6, 2006
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Published May 31, 2006
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