Phytoplankton in the North Atlantic

If you haven’t heard of the North Atlantic phytoplankton blooms, here’s a perfect introduction:

On Sept. 23, 2015, the weather was adequate for the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite to acquire this view of a bloom in the North Atlantic. The image was composed with data from the red, green, and blue bands from VIIRS, in addition to chlorophyll data. A series of processing steps were then applied to highlight color differences and bring out the bloom’s more subtle features. (The process also accentuates striping artifacts from the detectors that can be seen throughout the image.)

The image is part of a study to learn more about the annual cycles of ocean plankton and their relationship with atmospheric aerosols.