Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired April 29, 2005 600 x 450 62 KB - JPEG
Data acquired April 29, 2005 1200 x 900 190 KB - JPEG
Data acquired April 29, 2005 2400 x 1800 472 KB - JPEG
The Bay of Biscay forms a gentle “u” between the southwest shores of France and the Iberian Peninsula. On April 29, 2005, the brilliant blue and green swirls of a phytoplankton bloom filled the entire bay. Phytoplankton—tiny ocean plants that grow in the sunlit surface waters of the ocean—thrive in areas where cold water is pushed to the surface. The cold water, rushing up from the ocean depths, carries with it nutrients that had settled on the ocean floor, providing fertilizer for the surface plants. In these circumstances, the plants flourish, forming large blooms that are visible from space. The air above the bay is riddled with the thin white lines of cloud (contrails) left by the numerous jets that cross the bay each day.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on April 29, 2005. MODIS also detected two fires along the coast, which have been marked with red dots.
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Published May 3, 2005 Data acquired April 29, 2005