Phytoplankton Blooms Near the Cape of Good Hope

 

Different phytoplankton communities color the ocean different shades of blue and green off the southern coast of South Africa in the December 22, 2000, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) pass over the area.

The convergence of two currents—the cold Benguela flowing North along the west coast of Africa, and a branch of the warm Agulhas heading west along the southern tip of the continent—causes upwelling cold, nutrient-rich water which feeds. The phytoplankton. The mixing cam also generate huge waves, making these waters very treacherous to sail.

To learn more about the Benguela and Algulhas Currents, read A Clear Day Over the Agulhas Retroflection

Image courtesy SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE