Ocean Color Image Gallery

The Strait of Gibraltar

At its simplest level, water flows eastward into the Mediterranean Sea from the North Atlantic Ocean at the surface while Mediterranean water flows westward into the Atlantic at depth. Investigate further, however, and the story becomes more complex.

The above image was created from Aqua/MODIS and Suomi-NPP/VIIRS data collected on March 8, 2017. Phytoplankton in the surface waters highlight some of the turbulent flow patterns in the region. Click on the image to get a larger version.