Images released by NASA show the ocean of Chatham Island, located in New Zealand, surrounded by a ring of bright green and blue swirls. The registration was made on January 10th of this year by satellite NOAA-20.
According to research, the phenomenon is aa proliferation of phytoplankton — — that surrounded the island during the southern summer.
This occurs because the The top of the underwater plateau’s elevation is relatively shallow and separates areas of deeper water to the north and south. These seafloor contours make blooms common along the Chatham Rise, where cold, nutrient-rich currents from Antarctica converge with warm, nutrient-poor waters from the subtropics.
When water is mixed well, coupled with long daylight hours, it can boost phytoplankton populations in the region.
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