Off the coast of France (bottom right) and the United Kingdom (top right), microscopic marine plants known as phytoplankton are blooming in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, coloring the ocean blue and green. The Bristol Channel, which separates England from Wales, appears filled with murky water. The tan color could be a mixture of sediment and organic matter flowing into the Channel from rivers and streams as well as material churned up by waves and tidal actions. This image is from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on June 12, 2003.
The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS’ maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
