Science and Exploration

Phytoplankton Blooms in the Bering Sea As Seen From Orbit

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
October 20, 2014
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Phytoplankton Blooms in the Bering Sea As Seen From Orbit
Phytoplankton Blooms in the Bering Sea
NASA

Large blooms of phytoplankton (likely coccolithophores) surrounded the 51-kilometer-long St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea on October 8, 2014 when the above Aqua-MODIS image was collected.
The swirls and eddies of color give some indication of the turbulent nature of these waters. The reflective blooms have been visible from orbit for a few months now.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/Aqua/MODIS Larger image

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.