Phytoplankton Bloom Off Portugal

Phytoplankton Bloom Off Portugal

Turquoise and greenish swirls marked the presence of a large phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Portugal on April 23, 2002. This true-color image was acquired by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA’s Terra satellite. There are also several fires burning in northwest Spain, near the port city of A Coruña.

Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of this scene at the sensor’s fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapidfire site.

Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC