Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Alaska

A large phytoplankton bloom colored the surface waters of the Gulf of Alaska various shades of green on May 20, 2002. There also appears to be a lot of sediment being washed into the coastal waters all along Alaska's shoreline, coloring the waters a light brown. This sediment is probably carried by the snowmelt carried off the land as the spring thaw sets in. This true-color image was capture by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), flying aboard the OrbView-2 satellite.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    OrbView-2/SeaWiFS

  • Visualization Date

    2002-05-24