File:A Summer Scene across the Balkans and Black Sea (MODIS 2022-07-23).jpg

English: Summer sunshine highlighted the myriad colors of the Black Sea and surrounding landscape on July 22, 2022. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite to acquired a beautiful true-color image of the scene on that same day.

The Black Sea, filling about one-third of the eastern side of the image, is decorated with swirls of greens and blues. These fanciful colors mark the location of a summer-time bloom of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are the “primary producers” of the seas and oceans. These plant-like, microscopic algae, bacteria, and protists use chlorophyll to make food from sunlight and dissolved nutrients. More than 150 different types of phytoplankton have been observed in the Black Sea, supporting a rich bounty of fish and other marine life.

Six countries surround the Black Sea. From the north and moving counter clockwise, the countries seen in this image include Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Crimean Peninsula juts southward along the northern coast of the Black Sea and is partially covered with cloud. Crimea was transferred by the USSR to Ukraine in 1954 and was invaded by Russia in 2014. The CIA World Factbook lists Crimea as part of Ukraine, but notes “ 7.1% of Ukraine's area, is Russian occupied; the seized area includes all of Crimea and about one-third of both Luhans'k and Donets'k oblasts.”

The green forests of the Carpathian Mountains, which sweep through Romania are the most notable landmark west of the Black Sea. More than half of the Carpathian Mountains belong to Romania. The portion of the Danube River south of the Carpathians forms the border between Romania and Bulgaria as it flows into the Black Sea. In the south, the white circle is Lake Tuz, located on the Central Anatolia plateau about 90 miles (150 km) south-southeast of Ankara, Turkey. Lake Tuz was once the second-largest lake in Turkey but has become more of a large mineral-encrusted puddle than a lake in recent years. During some summers, it completely dries up.