MODIS caught a clear view of an explosion of phytoplankton—a rare treat since the Barents Sea is cloud-covered roughly 80 percent of the summer.
Published Aug 18, 2011
In this natural-color image from August 31, 2010, a large phytoplankton bloom colors the Barents Sea turquoise, teal, navy, and green.
Published Sep 5, 2010
Acquired August 24, 2012, this natural-color image shows a profusion of peacock hues created by a phytoplankton bloom in the Barents Sea.
Published Sep 25, 2012
In July 2016, phytoplankton in the Barents Sea turned the surface waters milky blue.
Published Jul 6, 2016
Phytoplankton are usually most abundant in this area when spring melting and runoff freshen the water and add nutrients just as sunlight is increasing.
Published May 8, 2018
Unusually clear skies and persistent, unseasonable heat may have set the stage for large and persistent blooms of phytoplankton in the waters around England.
Published Jun 26, 2020
This image of the summer phytoplankton bloom in the Barents Sea off the northwesternmost corner of Russia was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 19, 2009. The milky-blue color that dominates the bloom suggests that it contains large numbers of phytoplankton called coccolithophores.
Published Aug 22, 2009
Satellite imagers captured the transition from one blooming phytoplankton genus to another in the Barents Sea in the summer of 2014.
Published Aug 10, 2014
Early summer water conditions provide fertile territory for phytoplankton blooms.
Published Jul 5, 2015
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.
Published Aug 3, 2007
The northern and western highlands of Scotland were still winter-brown and even dusted with snow in places, but the waters of the North Sea were blooming with phytoplankton on May 8, 2008, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the region and captured this image. The tiny, plant-like organisms swirled in the waters off the country’s east coast, coloring the shallow coastal waters shades of bright blue and green.
Published May 13, 2008
Acquired September 10, 2011, this natural-color image shows a persistent phytoplankton bloom in the Barents Sea.
Published Sep 15, 2011
Phytoplankton are tiny plant-like organisms that are the foundation of the ocean food web. Like plants, they contain chlorophyll and other pigments that they use to harvest sunlight for photosynthesis. In northern waters, these organisms are starved for sunlight much of the year, but during the summer months, they explode in colorful blooms such as this one.
Published Aug 19, 2008
