Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Alaska - related image preview

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Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Alaska - related image preview

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Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Alaska

A large phytoplankton bloom colored the surface waters of the Gulf of Alaska various shades of green on May 20, 2002. There also appears to be a lot of sediment being washed into the coastal waters all along Alaska’s shoreline, coloring the waters a light brown. This sediment is probably carried by the snowmelt carried off the land as the spring thaw sets in. This true-color image was capture by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), flying aboard the OrbView-2 satellite.


Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA GSFC, and ORBIMAGE

Published May 24, 2002
Data acquired May 20 12:00:00, 2002

Source:
OrbView-2 > SeaWiFS