The bloom shown above off the east coast of New Zealand is probably made up of white coccolithospores that show up as turquoise in the water, and diatoms that look greenish brown from space. This image was taken on Oct. 25, 2009 by the MODIS sensor on NASA’s Aqua satellite.
Below, another bloom of coccolithophores in the area was captured on Dec. 29, 2009 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. The many spring and summer blooms in this area are fed by vertical mixing in the water column, which is caused by an underwater plateau flanked by deeper water on either side.
Images: 1) Jeff Schmaltz, NASA/MODIS Rapid Response. 2) Norman Kuring, Ocean Color Team.