Phytoplankton bloom off Newfoundland, Canada

  • Credit

    Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

This Terra MODIS image of Newfoundland Island, Canada features a phytoplankton bloom in the waters of the Cabot Strait. Phytoplankton are tiny microorganisms that thrive in cold, nutrient-rich waters and which use chlorophyll to create energy. It is the reflection of sunlight off of the chlorophyll that turns the water this particularly vibrant shade of turquoise. The swirls in the bloom are caused by currents in the Cabot Strait moving around the upper layers of the water where the phytoplankton live.

To the left of Newfoundland Island is the province of Newfoundland, and just visible in the bottom left corner is Nova Scotia. This true-color image was acquired July 29, 2002.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    Terra/MODIS

  • Visualization Date

    2002-08-26