The swirling greens and blues are densely concentrated, microscopic plants growing on the surface of the ocean.
Published Dec 3, 2015
A bloom large enough to be visible from space shows up off the coast of New Jersey.
Published Jul 10, 2016
Phytoplankton explosions off the east and west coasts of the United States have both benign and harmful impacts.
Published Aug 9, 2015
Acquired August 9, 2010, this natural-color image shows peacock-blue swirls in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Newfoundland.
Published Aug 11, 2010
In May 2020, a vivid phytoplankton bloom colored the surface waters of the country’s second-longest fjord.
Published Jun 10, 2020
In March 2017, phytoplankton bloomed off the coast of Tunisia.
Published Mar 25, 2017
Stunning natural phenomenon in the water and atmosphere are revealed in this wide view of the western coastline of the United States.
Published May 19, 2018
Seasonal blooms of phytoplankton off Japan are provoked by nutrient rich currents in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
Published Apr 10, 2013
Acquired February 9, 2010, this true-color image shows jewel-toned water caused by a phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Argentina. Roughly mimicking the coastline, the bloom forms a giant semicircle in the Atlantic Ocean.
Published Feb 10, 2010
An ongoing phytoplankton bloom has painted the sea surface in jewel tones.
Published May 12, 2013
The waters off of Newfoundland were colored by coccolithophore blooms for two months.
Published Sep 21, 2020
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
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
Phytoplankton require sunlight, water, and nutrients to grow.
Published Nov 18, 2016
Phytoplankton and blue-green algae blooms off of Scandinavia seem to be particularly intense this summer.
Published Jul 23, 2018
Phytoplankton blooms tend to show up in this Gulf in mid-summer and mid-autumn, but they can happen in winter too.
Published Apr 2, 2018
In early September, ocean scientists noticed something swirling in the waters off the coast of the Brazilian state of São Paulo.
Published Sep 10, 2017Image of the Day Water Human Presence Remote Sensing Water Color
Harmless phytoplankton put on a stunning display, while another less-visible species wreaked havoc on salmon farms.
Published Jun 6, 2019
Changing conditions in the waters near Alaska promotes late summer phytoplankton growth.
Published Sep 19, 2014
A confluence of changing weather and abundant nutrients sets the table for a feast of phytoplankton.
Published May 27, 2014
