Captured in March 2024, this satellite image of the Gulf of Oman comes from an instrument aboard the PACE spacecraft. The picture of a phytoplankton bloom is not quite natural-color, Keep reading
Tag: eddies
Sediment Swirls
Turbulent flows feature swirling eddies over a range of sizes — the larger the size range, the higher the Reynolds number. In this satellite image, sediment highlights these eddies in Keep reading
Atlantic Blooms
In April 2023, swirls of green and turquoise burst into vivid color in the Atlantic. Much of the color comes from a phytoplankton bloom. Although phytoplankton are individually microscopic, they Keep reading
Blooms in the Black Sea
The Black Sea gains its name from its dark waters, but those waters don’t stay dark year-round. In this natural color satellite image, streaks of milky blue bloom through the Keep reading
Watery Salt Flats
Unusually high rainfall in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni turned the world’s largest salt flat into a shallow salt lake. These natural-color satellite images show the area in late January 2022. Keep reading
“Phoenix Rising”
This aerial photo of Lake Owens by Paul Hoelen won a 2020 Drone Photo Award in the Abstract category. As Hoelen notes, “The phoenix rising is a symbol of re-emergence Keep reading
Two Views of Ocean Eddies
Colorful, sediment-laden eddies swirl off the Italian coast in this satellite image. These small-scale eddies — less than 10 km in diameter — can be short-lived and are often difficult Keep reading
Icy Swirls
Rafts of sea ice follow swirling eddies in this satellite image of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Just as with phytoplankton blooms and sediment, this thin sea ice can be Keep reading
Colorful Dissipation
Colorful eddies swirl in this short video from photographer Karl Gaff. Formed near the boundary at the bottom of the frame, these eddies act to dissipate some of the energy Keep reading
Ice Rings Caused By Underlying Eddies
Observations of strange ice rings on Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake, have puzzled scientists for decades. Surveys of satellite imagery have revealed rings on Baikal and two other lakes Keep reading