The waters along the shoreline of Sicily appear bright aquamarine in this imagefrom April 7, 2002. Although other satellite images occasionally show lighteningalong the coast of Sicily and southern Italy, the water is unusually bright inthis image. The bright water may have been caused by a recent storm that eitherstirred up sediment from relatively shallow sea bottom, or could be a springtimephytoplankton bloom. (Distinguishing phytoplankton from sediment is one of thechallenges facing NASA researchers who study life in the oceans from satellites.)
Another interesting feature of this image is the smoke plume from Mount Etna that isstreaming almost directly to the East (right). Mt. Etna is one of the world’smost active volcanos, and erupts up to several times a year.
References & Resources
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
