High chlorophyll a concentrations (in shades of red) are shown overlaid on a true-color corrected reflectance image of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea from February 15, 2025. The images were acquired by the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) aboard the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) platform.
The Chlorophyll a layer provides the near-surface concentration of chlorophyll a in milligrams of chlorophyll pigment per cubic meter (mg/m3) in the ocean. Chlorophyll is a light-harvesting pigment found in most photosynthetic organisms. In the ocean, phytoplankton all contain the chlorophyll pigment, which has a greenish color. Derived from the Greek words "phyto" (plant) and "plankton" (made to wander or drift), phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments, both salty and fresh. This area is home to blooms of mixotrophic dinoflagellate plankton, Noctiluca scintillans, which has been increasing over the years. The phytoplankton can deplete oxygen in the water and cause hypoxic "dead zones".
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