14 DAY TRIAL // The NASA Earth-observing Aqua satellite captured this amazing view of a sector of the North Sea on October 23. The natural-color view was snapped by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the spacecraft.
The numerous shades of green that are apparent in this image have a variety of sources, investigators say, including gelbstoff, sediments, phytoplankton blooms and other factors. No single phenomenon or process can account for such wide variations, scientists add.
“The North Sea is relatively shallow and can be subject to heavy seas and strong tidal currents, so re-suspension of bottom sediments in probably not uncommon, especially after storms,” explains NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Ocean Color Team expert Norman Kuring.
He says that sediments, gelbstoff – dissolved organic matter – ands phytoplankton interact in a variety of ways to underlie this amazing landscape. The former two act closer to the shoreline, whereas the blooms occur farther away, in the open waters.