The Envisat image shows a phytoplankton bloom swirls a figure-8 in the South Atlantic Ocean.
This image is fascinating because the phytoplankton act as natural tracer particles and reveal structures in the ocean such as the vortex dipole causing the figure-8. The phytoplankton reveal the velocity fields of the ocean currents showing where the flow is driven by shear vs vorticity.
Image Credits: European Space Agency (ESA), Envisat MERIS, December 2011
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Space_for_our_climate/Earth_from_Space_A_southern_summer_bloom
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Second Place: This image really stands out to me with how the use of phytoplankton that are super tiny can almost be treated as particles in a flow with similar behaviours and characteristics!
First- the sheer scale of the bloom is astonishing, and the colors from the plankton that allow you to see the currents and travel of the ocean are beautiful.
Third – So cool how such a tiny organism can show up so well on a large scale. Visualizing flow of something so big feels impossible, but nature does it for us!
First Place – The image is really cool looking and I love being able to see naturally occurring phenomena
Third Prize- This almost looks painted its so good. The way it shows the profound presence micro organisms in the ocean is super cool and creates an interesting shape in the ocean currents.
Third Prize—The color composition is very nice and love the vibrance. Depicting the bloom and showing the figure 8 is such a beautiful image merging both art and science.
First Prize- I love these satellite shots, and I think the image processing to really highlight the colors does an amazing job showing different flow dynamics happening in the ocean.
Third Prize – The scale of this image is amazing. The ability to visualize all the currents within the ocean without using any additional markers other than what’s currently inhabiting the water is very cool.
Third Prize – This image is very cool! I work a lot with satellite imagery and have looked at harmful algal blooms in the past, but never at this scale. It’s so interesting to be able to see the ocean currents.
2nd Prize – A very unique take but true showing of flow. The killer view of Earth from Space makes this photo remarkable.
Third Prize – This image is a beautiful visualization of one of the most important organisms in our environment and demonstrates a unique marked boundary technique.