NASA MODIS Image: Phytoplankton Bloom Off the Coast of Iceland

A spring bloom of phytoplankton lingered in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Iceland in early June, 2014.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-colour image on June 5.

At that time, swirling jewel tones of a vast bloom were visible between banks of white clouds.

According to the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, phytoplankton blooms around Iceland usually occur in early spring and fall.

The spring bloom is driven by longer daylight and the warming of surface layers. This leads to stratification of the waters, and allows the phytoplankton to stay in the surface layer and reproduce.

By summer the huge numbers of phytoplankton in the blooms decreases nutrients, and the numbers of the organisms begins to plummet.

Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

MODIS Image: Phytoplankton Bloom in the Norwegian Sea

Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz

The waters off Iceland rank among the world's most productive fisheries.

The reason for the abundance is an ample supply of phytoplankton, the base of the marine food chain.

Like any plant, microscopic phytoplankton need sunlight and nutrients to survive.

Iceland's coastal waters offer both during the long days of summer.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard NASA's Aqua satellite acquired this true-colour image of a large phytoplankton bloom in the Norwegian Sea, off of Iceland, on July 6, 2013.

The range of colors from milky blue to green suggests that a range of different species make up this bloom, most likely including diatoms and perhaps chalky white coccolithophores, says Sergion Signorini, and ocean scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Floating in the water, phytoplankton act like tracers, revealing the course of mixing currents and the swirling eddies where they clash.

A branch of the North Atlantic Current (the Gulf Stream) flows north, bringing warm Atlantic water to mix with the cold Arctic currents circling in from the east.

NASA MODIS Image: Springtime phytoplankton bloom in Bay of Biscay

Springtime in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of France, as in most places, is a season of abundant growth.

On April 20, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of the dynamic growth of a springtime phytoplankton bloom.

The swirling colors indicate the presence of vast numbers of phytoplankton – tiny plant-like microorganisms that live in both fresh and salt water. 

Although these organisms live year-round in the Bay of Biscay, it is only when conditions are right that explosive blooms occur.

In spring, the lengthening sunlight, the increased nutrient load swept into the Bay from ocean currents and from snowmelt carried by freshwater rivers, combined with warming waters create the perfect conditions to spur phytoplankton in to tremendous growth. 

The result, a swirling, multi-hued discolouration that can be easily seen from space.

Each year, typically from March through April, such blooms occur in the Bay of Biscay. By May, however, conditions are not as favourable and the blooms fade, then disappear.

Image Credit: NASA GSFC