Water in this Pacific Northwest fjord resembles the color of the Caribbean Sea.
Published Aug 4, 2017
The South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina and Uruguay is a rich mixing bowl of different water masses. The nutrient-rich waters from the combined Paraná and Uruguay Rivers empty into the South Atlantic through the Rio de la Plata. Under the right conditions, especially in spring and early summer, the nutrients fertilize the offshore surface waters allowing for large plankton blooms. This unique image captures traces of several different water masses just southeast of Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Rio de la Plata. Close to the coast of Uruguay, the muddy fresh water plume snakes along the coast. Farther offshore, broad swirls of light blue-green and darker water mark a bloom of plankton. To the right, deep blue water covered by puffy clouds suggests another, warmer water mass just north of the bloom.
Published Dec 15, 2003
Late in 2013, a mid-summer bloom of phytoplankton gave color to a whirling eddy south of Australia.
Published Jan 9, 2014
A new study found that the abundance of these floating plants has increased due to urbanization.
Published Sep 2, 2020
Those who live in the mid- to high-latitudes of the planet are familiar with the flush of green that comes with early summer as plants mature in the long, warm days. The ocean, too, comes alive during the spring and summer at those latitudes. During the darkness of winter, when the growth of plant-like marine life slows, nutrients accumulate in the surface waters of the cold northern (or southern) oceans. When light returns in the spring and summer, these plant-like organisms—phytoplankton—proliferate in the surface waters. Spring and early summer phytoplankton blooms can cover a broad swath of the ocean, providing an abundance of food to marine life.
Published Jul 18, 2008
