Ocean Color Image Gallery

Dark Water Off Brazil

We recently received a report that a harmful algal bloom had been sighted off of the southeastern coast of Brazil. The 19 January 2014 MODIS view of the region (above) does show a large plume of dark water that extends southward from Rio de Janeiro along the edge of the continental shelf.

More recent communication from Brazil indicates that samples of the dark water are full of the ciliate, Myrionecta rubra, (formerly known as Mesodinium rubrum) which is considered non-toxic and is known to regularly bloom in many parts of the world.

In addition to the bloom, a closer look at the full resolution MODIS image will also reveal the presence of the human species off the coast of Brazil.

Click on the image above for further details.