November 18, 2022 - Bloom in the South Atlantic

Bloom
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Gorgeous jewel-toned greens and blues swirled in a vast expanse of the
South Atlantic Ocean in mid-November 2022. The colors stretch from
north of Argentina’s Valdez Peninsula southward to the Falkland Islands
and from just offshore to more than 400 miles across the open sea. The
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s
Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the spectacular scene on
November 16.

The colors are created by blooms of phytoplankton, which are
microscopic plant-like organisms that live in these waters year-round
in small numbers. Spurred by abundant nutrients, proper temperatures,
and lengthening daylight, phytoplankton can reproduce explosively to
create large floating masses that can easily be seen from space. The
variety of colors suggest that these waters contain several species of
phytoplankton, each containing a different set of pigments, which lend
their tones to the bloom.

Large blooms frequently color the South Atlantic Ocean in this
location, especially in the spring and summer, when sunlight is
abundant and sea surface temperatures warm. This spot is also a
convergence zone, where two strong ocean currents collide. The icy
Malvinas Current, which is an offshoot of the frigid Circumpolar
Current that circles Antarctica, shoots northward along the coast of
South America. At the same time, the Brazil Current carries warm
sub-tropical waters southward. In addition, warm water pours into the
Atlantic Ocean from the Rio de la Plata between Argentina and Uruguay,
and is carried southward. These currents mix and mingle in the South
Atlantic north of the Falkland Islands, creating a rich and diverse
haven for marine life—including phytoplankton.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/16/2022
Resolutions: 1km (1 MB), 500m (2.7 MB), 250m (6.1 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=2022-11-18

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