February 6, 2021 - Color in the Bay of Campeche

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   Bright jewel-toned plumes of color graced the near-shore waters of the
   Bay of Campeche in early February 2021. The Moderate Resolution Imaging
   Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a
   true-color image of the scene on February 4.

   The color likely comes primarily from sediment, which scatters light
   and changes the color of water in which it floats. Sediment may be
   washed into the water or may be stirred up from the bottom. Some color
   may also be from phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms that
   live in these waters year-round but, when conditions are right, may
   reproduce explosively to create a large bloom of color that can be
   easily seen from space.

   Close to the shoreline and in the large tidal lagoon (the Laguna de
   Términos) the water appears a muddy tan or greenish-tan, indicating
   that mud-colored sediment has been washed into the Bay and remains
   close to the surface. As sediment disperses or sinks, the reflectivity
   changes and color changes to green and then black.

   When sediment is stirred from the bottom—usually by wave action or by
   current flow—the resultant visible color depends on the type of
   suspended material. Milky-blue swirls indicate the presence of calcium
   carbonate in the sediment. The origin of calcium carbonate may be from
   shell-building marine life, such as coral, or from limestone, or even
   from coccolithophores, which are a type of phytoplankton that have
   calcite plates. The milky-blue swirls in this image are likely from
   sediment stirred from the bottom by a combination of rains, strong
   tides, and heightened flow through the Laguna de Términos. Several
   rivers flow from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula into the Laguna de
   Términos, carrying heavy sediment. The Bay of Campeche, which is part
   of the Gulf of Mexico, typically carries colorful sediment when seen
   from space.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 2/4/2021
   Resolutions:  1km (117.9 KB),  500m (407.3 KB),  250m (1.2 MB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-02-06
 
