NASA MODIS satellite image from 16 August 2011 over the Barents sea (see map below).
(Image NASA/Rapidfire)
Concentration of phytoplankton using chlorophyll colors the ocean – see description below the map.
Click for a larger image (Map by Google maps)
At the base of the ocean food web are single-celled algae and other plant-like organisms known as phytoplankton. Like plants on land, phytoplankton use chlorophyll and other light-harvesting pigments to carry out photosynthesis, absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide to produce sugars for fuel. Chlorophyll in the water changes the way it reflects and absorbs sunlight, allowing scientists to map the amount and location of phytoplankton. In many coastal areas, the rising slope of the sea floor pushes cold water from the lowest layers of the ocean to the surface. The rising, or upwelling water carries iron and other nutrients from the ocean floor.
(Adapted from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MY1DMM_CHLORA)
Throstur Thorsteinsson.
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