Summer winds along Australia’s Bonney Coast push coastal waters offshore, triggering the upwelling of colder waters from depths below 300 meters. These cold waters from the deep are nutrient-rich, thanks to all the decomposition that happens along the ocean floor. The infusion of nutrients triggers an explosion of life, visible here in the form of a green phytoplankton bloom along the shelf break. In turn, the phytoplankton attract fish and blue whales. Even great white sharks are drawn to the cornucopia. (Image credit: W. Liang; via NASA Earth Observatory)
Swirls Off South Australia
