On November 15, 2008, a bloom of plant-like organisms known as phytoplankton encircled the Chatham Islands.
Published Nov 20, 2008
An expansive bloom of phytoplankton traced colorful swirls across the South Pacific Ocean between New Zealand (left) and the Chatham Islands (right) on December 23, 2009.
Published Dec 29, 2009
Acquired November 10, 2009, this true-color image shows peacock-hued waters swirling off the coast of Chile, north and south of Punta Lavapié.
Published Nov 12, 2009
Streaks of blue and green color the South Atlantic Ocean in this image from January 9 2010.
Published Jan 30, 2010
The tiny, plant-like organisms thrive on iron that seeps into the ocean.
Published May 7, 2017
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
Intense streaks of blue and green colored the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina on November 15, 2009.
Published Nov 21, 2009
The dynamic colors of ocean phytoplankton blooms reflect a host of dynamic relationships occurring below the water line.
Published Jan 9, 2015
Late in 2013, a mid-summer bloom of phytoplankton gave color to a whirling eddy south of Australia.
Published Jan 9, 2014
Even dozens of kilometers away, microscopic creatures from these reefs can breathe life into nearby waters.
Published Dec 20, 2016
Fueled by the Oyashio current, the waters off of northeastern Japan support a bounty of phytoplankton and fishes.
Published Jun 4, 2019
Millions of tiny, single-celled plant-like organisms ring the Falkland Islands in this photo-like image taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on January 13, 2008. These organisms, called phytoplankton, reflect light, coloring the ocean with whimsical swirls of blue and green.
Published Jan 15, 2008
Swirls of milky blue and green reveal the presence of massive numbers of phytoplankton in the South Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands.
Published Jan 6, 2018
Some of the clearest, bluest ocean waters on Earth are found in the South Pacific.
Published Oct 12, 2017
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