Ocean color satellites travel around the Earth at an altitude of about 700 to 800 km.
Krill (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Colony of diatoms genus Bacillaria whose single cells slide against each other (Video : Sophie Marro)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Velella - Planktonic Vessels
Colonies of polyps transported by prevailing winds, velella drift at the surface of warm seas.
Phytoplankton bloom observed in the Barents Sea (North of Norway) in August 2010 by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Aqua. Changes in ocean color result from modifications in the phytoplankton composition and concentration. The green colors are likely associated with the presence of diatoms. The shades of light blue result from the occurrence of coccolithophores, phytoplankton organisms that strongly reflect light due to their chalky shells - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Copepode Sapphirina iris (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium carriense var volans (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium furca (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium falcatum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
The seasonal evolution of the chlorophyll a concentration as seen by a « water color » satellite (SeaWifs) in the Atlantic Ocean.
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Diatom genus Chaetoceros (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)