NASA Earth Observatory

SeaWiFS captured this image of the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States on October 3, 2000. This view shows considerable amounts of colored organic matter and suspended sediment in the water (note the dark reddish patches at the mouths of the Cape Fear River and Winyah Bay). The apparent lighter color of the ocean from the Carolinas northward is caused by atmospheric aerosols which scatter incoming solar radiation back into space.

For more information about sediment runoff from Hurricane Floyd in 1999, see Sedimental Reasons.

Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE