File:Tunisia's Turquoise Waters (MODIS 2022-03-28).jpg
From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Size of this preview: 751 × 599 pixels. Other resolutions: 301 × 240 pixels | 602 × 480 pixels | 963 × 768 pixels | 1,280 × 1,021 pixels | 2,560 × 2,043 pixels | 2,980 × 2,378 pixels.
Original file (2,980 × 2,378 pixels, file size: 608 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
File information
Structured data
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionTunisia's Turquoise Waters (MODIS 2022-03-28).jpg |
English: On March 23, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of brilliant turquoise-tinted waters off the coast of Tunisia. This remarkably beautiful color is the result of a large bloom of phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms that live in these waters year-round but, when conditions are just right, undergo explosive reproduction to create huge, colorful, floating colonies that are easily seen from space. The colors concentrate in the Gulf of Gabes, with tendrils of color reaching into the darker waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Blooms of phytoplankton are common in this location in both the spring and the summer, when nutrients carried to the surface from upwelling in the Gulf of Gabes combine with warming water temperatures and lengthening daylight to create ideal temperatures for the organisms. Nutrient runoff from local rivers contribute to encouraging growth of phytoplankton. Most of the blooms off the coast of Tunisia are benign and may actually assist in the rich fishery found there as phytoplankton form the base of the marine food web, ultimately attracting and supporting species of fish with commercial value. Sometimes, however, blooms contain harmful species of phytoplankton. Called Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), the organisms can release toxins that can cause illness in people or animals. One type of HAB is known as “red tide”, so called because the pigments in that organism cause a red tint to the water. No HAB has currently been reported off the Tunisian coast. |
||
Date | Taken on 23 March 2022 | ||
Source |
Tunisia's Turquoise Waters (direct link)
|
||
Author | MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
This media is a product of the Aqua mission Credit and attribution belongs to the mission team, if not already specified in the "author" row |
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
Warnings:
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 22:10, 9 January 2024 | 2,980 × 2,378 (608 KB) | OptimusPrimeBot (talk | contribs) | #Spacemedia - Upload of http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/images/image03282022_250m.jpg via Commons:Spacemedia |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.