• MODIS Pic of the Day 19 August 2022

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Fri Aug 19 12:00:40 2022
    August 19, 2022 - Bloom in the Barents Sea

    Bloom
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    A massive and spectacular phytoplankton bloom filled the Barents Sea
    with swirls of blues and green in mid-August 2022. The Moderate
    Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua
    satellite acquired a true-color image of colorful waters off of the
    northeastern coast of Norway and northwestern coast of Russia.

    Phytoplankton are microscopic plant-like organisms that are the
    foundation of the marine food web. Like plants, they contain
    chlorophyll and other pigments that they use to harvest sunlight for
    photosynthesis. They live in the waters of the Barents Sea year-round.
    In winter, frigid water temperatures and extremely short daylength
    aren’t favorable for reproduction so their numbers are relatively
    small. In late spring and summer, temperatures rise, the sun shines for
    most of each day, sea ice melts, and nutrient levels rise,
    phytoplankton can reproduce explosively, creating massive colorful
    blooms, such as this one. The Barents Sea bloom normally peaks in
    August, before cold weather and shortening days rapidly return to the
    region.

    Image Facts
    Satellite: Aqua
    Date Acquired: 8/17/2022
    Resolutions: 1km (341.2 KB), 500m (947.7 KB), 250m (2.7 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=2022-08-19

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