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Chatham Islands

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science1 month ago•91 min saved

Halo of glowing plankton surrounds NZ’s Chatham Islands, powered by a hidden undersea plateau

A January 2026 satellite image captured a bright halo of coccolithophore phytoplankton circling New Zealand’s Chatham Islands. The bloom is driven by the Chatham Rise, a shallow underwater plateau that channels cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, creating ideal conditions for algal blooms in summer. While this natural spectacle highlights the region’s rich marine life, the same hidden bathymetry is linked to deadly cetacean strandings in the area, underscoring how underwater geography shapes both ecosystems and marine hazards.

via Live Science|

#cetacean-strandings #chatham-islands #chatham-rise

science4 months ago•4 min saved

NASA Spots a Ring of Blooms Around the Chatham Islands

NASA's VIIRS satellite captured a ring-shaped phytoplankton bloom around the Chatham Islands, where nutrient-rich upwelling from the Chatham Rise and the clash of cold Antarctic and warmer subtropical waters fuel rapid algae growth. The vivid greens and blues reveal a seasonal, highly productive marine ecosystem that supports fisheries and marine mammals, though the area is also known for mass strandings tied to its complex oceanography.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#chatham-islands #nasa #oceanography

science4 months ago•3 min saved

Satellite View Captures Ring of Phytoplankton Around Chatham Islands

NASA's Earth Observatory captured a vibrant ring of phytoplankton encircling the remote Chatham Islands in January 2026, observed by the VIIRS instrument on NOAA-20. The bloom forms where cold, nutrient-rich Antarctic waters meet warmer subtropical waters around the Chatham Rise, supporting local fisheries and marine life, though the region is also known for whale and dolphin strandings.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#bloom #chatham-islands #noaa-20