This composite image of southern Africa and the surrounding oceans was captured by six orbits of the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership spacecraft on April 9, 2015
The image was captured by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument. Tropical Cyclone Joalane can be seen over the Indian Ocean.
Winds, tides and density differences constantly stir the oceans while phytoplankton continually grow and die. Orbiting radiometers such as VIIRS allows scientists to track this variability over time and contribute to better understanding of ocean processes that are beneficial to human survival on Earth. The image was created by the Ocean Biology Processing Group at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
For more information, please visit: oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and www.nasa.gov/npp
