Algal bloom off Peru
A vast area of the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Peru is colored green with algae in this image, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS ) on NASAs Aqua satellite on February 23, 2004. Like their land based counterparts, algae are green because of chlorophyll, the pigment that translates solar energy into nutrients for the plant. The algae are growing near the surface of the ocean where sunlight can reach them, and near the shore, where cold ocean waters are pushed from the bottom to the surface. Such waters carry the additional nutrients the algae need to grow.
