Fire and Ice in Northeast Asia

Fire and Ice in Northeast Asia

The greyish haze of smoke from forest fires in eastern Russia obscured parts of the Sea of Okhotsk on May 10, 2002. Much of the snow- and ice-covered landscape of Northeast Asia is also visible in this true-color scene, acquired by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). Dark greenish swirls indicating the presence of a large phytoplankton bloom can also be seen in the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean where the overlying smoke is not too thick.

Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA GSFC, and ORBIMAGE