Natural-color satellite images can capture art-like beauty when sediments trace water currents and eddies; other kinds of data can make that art intersect with scientific understanding.
See, for example, the colorful details in the Mediterranean Sea (top image). When paired with a false-color observation of temperature, scientists can say more about the likely source of the color.
Aida Alvera-Azcárate, an ocean scientist at University of Liège, noticed colorful swirls off the coast of western Italy starting in late December 2019, as observed by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a similar scene on December 26 (top) showing colorful waters between the island of Elba and the Italian mainland.
The colors are primarily the result of suspended sediments that were carried by several rivers into the sea. (There might be some phytoplankton contributing as well). Water with more sediment appears green-brown, and water with less sediment is light blue.
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
