Coccoliths in the Celtic Sea-NASA

Autor/Urheber:

NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team

Shortlink:

https://dewiki.de/b/301b27

Quelle:

Wikimedia Commons

Größe:

1362 x 1509 Pixel (273934 Bytes)

Beschreibung:

Coccoliths in the Celtic Sea :Coccolithophores, however, are a group of phytoplankton that are identifiable from space. These microscopic plants armor themselves with external plates of calcium carbonate. The plates, or coccoliths, give the ocean a milky white or turquoise appearance during intense blooms. The long-term flux of coccoliths to the ocean floor is the main process responsible for the formation of chalk and limestone. :This image is a natural-color view of the Celtic Sea and English Channel regions, and was acquired by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer's nadir (vertical-viewing) camera on June 4, 2001 during Terra orbit 7778. It represents an area of 380 kilometers x 445 kilometers, and includes portions of southwestern England and northwestern France. The coccolithophore bloom in the lower left-hand corner usually occurs in the Celtic Sea for several weeks in summer. The coccoliths backscatter light from the water column to create a bright optical effect. Other algal and/or phytoplankton blooms can also be discerned along the coasts near Portsmouth, England and Granville, France.

Lizenz:

Public domain

Credit:

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03441

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