Phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina

  • Credit

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

Both land and sea are blooming in this true-color MODIS image of southern Argentina and the Atlantic Ocean from October 23, 2001. In the waters off the coast, blue and green swirls indicate populations of marine plants called phytoplankton. Along the coast and at the banks of rivers, the land has taken on a faint green tinge, as spring vegetation begins to grow. White dots to the south of San Jorge Gulf (image center) may be small, still-frozen lakes. At the lower left of the image, portions of the glacier-covered Andes Mountains are visible.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    Terra/MODIS
  • Visualization Date

    2001-10-23