Acquired November 21, 2010, this natural-color image shows brightly colored water off the coast of northern Namibia.
Published Nov 22, 2010
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.
Published Nov 22, 2007
Bacteria near the seafloor consume organic matter and produce prodigious amounts of gas that rises to the surface.
Published Feb 20, 2015
Intense streaks of blue and green colored the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina on November 15, 2009.
Published Nov 21, 2009
