NASA Aqua Image: Argentine Phytoplankton bloom

Off the coast of Argentina, two strong ocean currents recently stirred up a colourful brew of floating nutrients and microscopic plant life just in time for the Southern Hemisphere's summer solstice.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of a massive phytoplankton bloom off of the Atlantic coast of Patagonia on Dec. 21, 2010.

Scientists used seven separate spectral bands to highlight the differences in the plankton communities across this swath of ocean.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA ASTER Image: Argentine's Patagonia from space: NASA satellite pictures of the participating nations

Argentina: This image of a Patagonian glacier was aqcuired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on May 2, 2000.

Patagonia is a mountainous region spanning the border between Chile and Argentina near the southern tip of South America.

Vegetation appears red in the image, which is a false-colour composite of near-infrared, red, and green light displayed as red, green, and blue, respectively

Picture: NASA / REX FEATURES