This true-color image acquired May 4, 2001, by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) reveals a large, thick plume of aerosols blowing eastward over the North Atlantic Ocean. The aerosol plume is the regional haze produced by the industrial northeastern United States that you typically see during the summer months. The haze is composed of sulfates and organics that originate from power plants and automotive sources. It is a little surprising to see this much haze so early in the season.

Also, looking closely, beneath the haze you can see a large bloom of phytoplankton in the ocean extending northeastward from the coast of North Carolina. Click on the full image (above) to see another, brighter phytoplankton bloom located about 2,000 km (1,250 miles) due east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

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