Explosive Phytoplankton Bloom Seen From Space

By Nancy Atkinson - August 17, 2011 at 9:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science
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Phytoplankton are tiny, microscopic plant-like organisms, but when they get together and start growing they can cover hundreds of square kilometers and be easily visible in satellite images. This image of the Barents Sea was taken on August 14, 2011 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. When conditions are right, phytoplankton populations can grow explosively, a phenomenon known as a bloom. A bloom may last several weeks, but the life span of any individual phytoplankton is rarely more than a few days. The area in this image is immediately north of the Scandinavian peninsula. Blooms spanning hundreds or even thousands of kilometers occur across the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans every year. But, said Jeff Schmaltz from

NASA's Earth Observatory website,

seeing such a wide area without clouds during the bloom is a rare treat.

Phytoplankton thrive in cold ocean waters, which tend to be rich in nutrients. Schmaltz said the milky blue color is an indicator that the bloom probably contains coccolithophores, which are plated with white calcium carbonate. Seen through ocean water, a coccolithophore bloom is bright blue. Other shades may be from other species of phytoplankton.

Source:

NASA's Earth Observatory website

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com