NANCY ATKINSON on JANUARY 5, 2011 in Universe Today

Phytoplankton bloom off of the Atlantic coast of Patagonia on December 21, 2010. NASA image created by Norman Kuring, Ocean Color Web. Instrument: Aqua – MODIS

The view from space of our home planet is often breathtaking and sobering. Lately, there has been a plethora of amazing images on NASA’s Earth Observatory website. Take the one above, for example. A swirling Van Gogh painting? No, phytoplankton blooming off of the Atlantic coast of Patagonia, and the swirls are created from two strong ocean currents stirring up a colorful brew of floating nutrients and microscopic plant life. Amazing that the tiny life joins together in huge assemblages that we can see from space. This image was taken on the southern hemisphere’s summer solstice on December 21, 2010. Scientists used seven separate different spectral bands to highlight the differences in the plankton communities across this swath of ocean.