The phytoplankton bloom in the main corridor of the world oil

Every day the ships are transported through the Strait of Hormuz about 20 million barrels (3 million cubic meters) of crude oil — almost a quarter of global consumption. This is one of the main oil corridors in the world.

6 Oct using the OLI instrument on Landsat 8 was obtained this image of swirls of phytoplankton in the Strait of Hormuz.

The image resembles a watercolor painting, it represents the synthesis of art and science. Like the photographer, governing the lighting and use filters, Norman Kuring of the group for the study of ocean biology, NASA used a different program and technique of color filtering to show fine details in the water. Eddies in a chlorophyll-rich water is real — Curing just highlighted and reinforced certain shades and tones to make the biomass more visible.

Phytoplankton are plant organisms that serve as the center of the marine food chain. The abundance of phytoplankton in the water depends on the availability of sunlight and nutrients, but can be affected by other factors: water temperature, salinity, and depth, the winds, the number of marine animals that feed on them. Under certain conditions, phytoplankton populations can grow explosively, a phenomenon known phytoplankton bloom.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»