File:Sediment off the Yucatan Peninsula.jpg

Summary

DescriptionSediment off the Yucatan Peninsula.jpg	English: A burst of colour lights the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan Peninsula. The swirls of tan, green, blue, and white are most likely sediment in the water. The sediment scatters light, giving the water its color. The sediment comes from two sources: the land and the sea floor. Some of the color may also come from phytoplankton, tiny plant-like organisms that live in the sun-lit surface waters of the ocean. Near the shore, the water is tan where rivers carry dirt from land to the ocean. As the sediment disperses, the water fades to green and then black. To the north (top), the water is more blue and white than tan and green. In these regions, the sediment has likely come from the sea floor. Made up of chalky white calcium carbonate from shell-building marine life like coral, sea floor sediment gives the water a white or bright blue colour. The sediment was probably brought to the surface in shallow waters by strong waves. A few days before the image was taken, strong winds churned the Gulf. The blue-green cloud in this image roughly matches the extent of the shallow continental shelf west of the peninsula. Français : Des tourbillons colorées en brun, vert, bleu et blanc ornent les eaux peu profondes du Golfe du Mexique au large de la Péninsule du Yucatán après une tempête. Ces colorations sont dues principalement à des sédiments qui colorent l'eau en dispersant la lumière, et qui ont été soulevés par les vagues. Il existe deux sources de sédiments dans la mer: les terres émergées et le fond. Une partie de la coloration peut aussi être due à du phytoplancton. Les zones brunes près de la côte sont colorées par des sédiments déversés par les fleuves qui parcourent la péninsule. Les zones claires contiennent des sédiments blancs provenant du fond océanique, ici de nature corallienne et constitué principalement de calcaire. Les zones colorées correspondent grossièrement au plateau continental, où le fond est suffisamment près de la surface pour être affecté par la tempête.
Date	14 December 2008
Source	NASA Earth Observatory (original image)
Author	NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.

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	This formerly was a featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (Featured pictures) and was considered one of the finest images. See its nomination here. This is a featured picture on the Turkish language Wikipedia (Seçkin resimler) and is considered one of the finest images. See its nomination here. If you have an image of better quality that can be published under a suitable copyright license, be sure to upload it, tag it, and nominate it.

This image was selected as picture of the day on Wikimedia Commons for 8 September 2009. It was captioned as follows:

English: A burst of colour lights the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan Penninsula.The swirls of tan, green, blue, and white are most likely sediment in the water. The sediment scatters light, giving the water its colour. The sediment comes from two sources: the land and the sea floor. Sediment from land is moved by fluvial processes.

Other languages:

Bosanski: Eksplozija boja osvjetljava plićak u Meksičkom zalivu kod poluostrva Jukatan. Vrtlog žutosmeđe, zelene, plave i bijele je najsličniji sedimentu u vodi. Sediment raspršuje svjetlost, dajući vodi boju. Sediment dolazi iz dva izvora: zemlje i morskog dna. Sediment sa zemlje je pomjeren fluviajalnim procesima.

Čeština: Satelitní pohled na zbarvení v mělké vodě Mexického zálivu u pobřeží Yucatánu. Mnohobarevné vzory jsou zřejmě způsobeny kalem ve vodě – ten rozptyluje světlo, čímž dává vodě barvu. Kal pochází jednak z mořského dna, jednak ze souše, prostřednictvím říční eroze.

Dansk: Farver i det lave, kystnære vand i den Mexicanske Golf ud for Yucatán-halvøen. De gulbrune, grønne, blå og hvide farver skyldes sandsynligvis sedimenter i vandet, som spreder lyset. Sedimenterne kommer fra to kilder: Fra landet (ved fluviale processer) og fra havbunden.

English: A burst of colour lights the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan Penninsula.The swirls of tan, green, blue, and white are most likely sediment in the water. The sediment scatters light, giving the water its colour. The sediment comes from two sources: the land and the sea floor. Sediment from land is moved by fluvial processes.

Español: Fotografía de satélite en la que se observan las aguas del Golfo de México, próximas a la costa de la península de Yucatán, enturbiadas por efecto de los sedimentos transportados por los ríos de la zona.

Esperanto: Elsatelita foto en kiu videblas la akvo en Meksika Golfo, proksime de Jukatan-duoninsulo, kolorita pro la sedimentoj alportitaj de la enfluantaj riveroj.

Italiano: Immagine satellitare del Golfo del Messico al largo della Penisola dello Yucatán. I sedimenti provenienti dal fondo oceanico o trasportati dai fiumi diffraggono la luce a seconda della loro natura e della loro concentrazione, dando luogo alla varietà di colori che si può osservare. Foto acquisita il 14 dicembre 2008 tramite lo strumento MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) installato a bordo del satellite artificiale Aqua della NASA.

Magyar: Színek tobzódása a Mexikói-öböl sekély vizében (2008-as műholdas felvétel, jobbról a Yucatán-félsziget látható).
A színeket a vízben lévő különböző lerakódások és fitoplanktonok okozzák.
A kép szélessége mintegy 600 km.

Nederlands: De ondiepe kustwateren van het schiereiland Yucatán, in de Golf van Mexico. De flarden geelbruin, groen, blauw en wit zijn waarschijnlijk sedimenten in het water. Het sediment verstrooit het licht, waardoor het water haar karakteristieke kleur krijgt. Het sediment is afkomstig van het land (fluviatiel) en de zeebodem (marien).

Português: Imagem de satélite mostrando as águas do Golfo do México, próximas ao litoral da península de Iucatã, turvadas por sedimentos transportados pelos rios da região.

Română: Vedere din satelit a golfului Mexic, la țărmul peninsulei Yucatan. Culoarea albastră-verzuie se datorează sedimentelor riverane.

Македонски: Силни бои ги осветлуваат плитките води на Мексиканскиот Залив кај полуостровот Јукатан. Врлозите со светлокафеава, зелена, сина и бела боја најверојатно се наноси во водата. Наносот ја распрскува светлината, и со тоа водата добива таква боја. Самиот нанос доаѓа од две места: земјата и морското дно. Талогот од земјата дотекува по речен пат.

Русский: Спутниковая фотография Мексиканского залива у побережья полуострова Юкатан. Бирюзовый цвет вод вызван речными наносами

Українська: Фотографія з супутника Мексиканської затоки біля мексиканського узбережжя півострову Юкатан. Бірюзовий колір морських вод спричинений, найбільш вірогідно, річковими наснесеннями.

한국어: 유카탄 반도 인근의 멕시코 만 해안의 바닷물의 다양한 색상. 바닷물에 나타난 황갈색, 녹색, 파란색, 흰색 등의 색상은 수중의 퇴적물에 의한 것이다. 수중 퇴적물은 빛을 산란시킴으로써 다양한 색상을 만들어낸다.

中文：墨西哥湾尤卡坦半岛卫星照片。漩涡中的绿色、蓝色和白色很可能是水中的沉积物。沉积物散射光线，使水的颜色变化。沉积物来源有两个：大陆和海床。大陆的沉积物来自河流的冲刷。

中文（繁體）：墨西哥灣猶加敦半島衛星照片。漩渦中的棕褐色、綠色、藍色和白色很可能是水中的沉積物。沉積物散射光線，使水的顏色變化。沉積物來源有兩個：陸地和海底。陸地的沉積物來自河流作用。

Instrument: Terra - MODIS

Licensing

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	Warnings: Use of NASA logos, insignia and emblems is restricted per U.S. law 14 CFR 1221. The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet/Russian space agency, and other non-American space agencies. These are not necessarily in the public domain. Materials based on Hubble Space Telescope data may be copyrighted if they are not explicitly produced by the STScI.[1] See also {{PD-Hubble}} and {{Cc-Hubble}}. The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) site has been known to host copyrighted content. Its photo gallery FAQ states that all of the images in the photo gallery are in the public domain "Unless otherwise noted."

Width	2,400 px
Height	2,000 px
Compression scheme	Uncompressed
Pixel composition	RGB
Orientation	Normal
Number of components	3
Horizontal resolution	72 dpi
Vertical resolution	72 dpi
Data arrangement	chunky format
Software used	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
File change date and time	14:30, 18 December 2008
Color space	Uncalibrated

File:Sediment off the Yucatan Peninsula.jpg

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