November 30, 2020 - Bloom off Australia

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   Bloom off Australia
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   A spring bloom produced a swirling spin of color in the waters of the
   Great Australian Bight in November 2020. The Moderate Resolution
   Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite
   acquired this true-color image of the colorful scene on November 25.

   The swirl of bright blue indicates an area where pigment-containing
   microscopic organisms known as phytoplankton have reproduced in vast
   numbers, creating a bloom so large it can easily be seen from space.
   With a name derived from the Greek works “phyto” (plant) and “plankton”
   (made to wander or drift), these plant-like organisms live in watery
   environments. When conditions are right, phytoplankton populations can
   grow explosively, a phenomenon known as a bloom. Conditions in the
   Great Australian Bight frequently cause up upwelling of deep water in
   certain areas, bringing nutrients from near the ocean floor towards the
   surface. This creates a feast for the upper-layer floating
   phytoplankton and may spur blooms centered over the upwelling.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Aqua
   Date Acquired: 11/25/2020
   Resolutions:  1km (150.9 KB),  500m (490.3 KB),  250m (141.4
   KB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2020-11-30
 
