April 13, 2023 - Spring Bloom off the East Coast of the United States

Bloom
Tweet
Share

Patches of greens and blues colored the waters of the Atlantic Ocean
off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic United States in mid-April 2023.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image that stretched from
Connecticut (north) to Maryland (south) on April 10. Tan-colored
sediment sits in the Long Island Sound south of Connecticut and in the
Delaware Bay, while swirls of color more typical of phytoplankton float
in the dark blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The largest and most
obvious phytoplankton bloom sits off the coast of New Jersey, not far
from the Delaware Bay.

Phytoplankton are microscopic plant-like organisms that live in the
Atlantic Ocean year-round. When conditions are right—favorable water
temperatures, enough sunlight, and abundant nutrients—these organisms
can reproduce explosively, creating blooms large enough to be visible
from space for days or even weeks. Blooms occur frequently off the
Mid-Atlantic states, usually in spring or summer.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 4/10/2023
Resolutions: 1km (212 KB), 500m (498 KB), 250m (911.2 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=2023-04-13

--- up 1 year, 6 weeks, 3 days, 20 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)