Phytoplankton bloom in the North Atlantic. Phytoplankton are microscopic, plant-like organisms and in the spring and autumn they bloom in profusion. We know that they're important to Earth's ecology, but are not yet certain in what ways they effect it. This bloom was observed by the Suomi NPP satellite in September 2015 and there was some processing to highlight differences in color and enhance the more subtle features of the bloom.

(Credit: NASA image by Norman Kuring, using VIIRS data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, captioned by Kathryn Hansen)

Last edited by Mona - Astronomy; 12/13/15 01:10 AM.