Phytoplankton Bloom off Greenland

A bright bloom of phytoplankton was visible off the east coast of Greenland on July 27 and again (or perhaps, still) on August 2, 2003, and was captured in these Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite. The ice in the numerous fjords that carve into the Greenland coast appears to be thinning, and in the high-resolution versions of the scene, has a slushy appearance.

Greenland  is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers, as well as the nearby island of Iceland) for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Nowadays the population is largely concentrated on the southwest coast of the island while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities — Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas — the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The last one, even if under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force.

Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC