The summer season is a prime time to observe colorful displays of phytoplankton in the Labrador and Barents seas.
In mid-June 2021, hints of a phytoplankton bloom brewed off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. In the following weeks, the faint patch transformed into a brilliant blue expanse as the number of microscopic plant-like creatures exploded.
The bloom was in full swing on August 5, 2021, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image (above). Clouds are common over the Labrador Sea, and this day was no exception. But areas east and southeast of Newfoundland were clear enough for satellites to detect the stunning blue display. Faint traces of the bloom were still visible amid the clouds on August 23.
The color of the ocean here is a good indication that the bloom is composed of coccolithophores, likely Emiliania huxleyi. The phytoplankton are covered in chalky calcite plates that are highly reflective, which make the ocean surface appear milky blue. Each cell is just a few nanometers across, but when enough of them congregate over a large area they become visible from space.
Continue reading at NASA Earth Observatory
Image via NASA Earth Observatory
