In one frame International Space Station astronauts were able to capture the evolution of fringing reefs to atolls. As with the Hawaiian Islands, these volcanic hot spot islands become progressively older to the northwest. As these islands move away from their magma sources they erode and subside.
This astronaut photo from January 6, 2009, shows giant kelp beds in the waters surrounding Mac Murdo and Howe Islands—2 of the 300 islands that make up the Kerguélen Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean.