MSGID: 1:317/3 648a006a   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   June 14, 2023 - Colorful Van Diemen Gulf, Northern Territory, Australia   
      
      Van Dieman   
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      Gorgeous jewel-toned colors created a spectacular glow in the Van   
      Diemen Gulf in June 2023. The Moderate Resolution Imaging   
      Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a   
      true-color image of the colorful Van Diemen Gulf on June 13. Similar   
      colors tint the water north of the Tiwi Islands, especially the two   
      main islands of Bathurst (west) and Melville (east). These islands sit   
      so close together that they often look like a single, larger, island   
      from above.   
      
      Sometimes nicknamed “the bathtub”, in honor of it’s warm and shallow   
      waters, the Van Diemen Gulf spans the waters of Australia’s Northern   
      Territory between Melville Island, the Cobourg Peninsula, and the   
      mainland coast. The large semi-enclosed embayment has a surface area of   
      about 16,000 square kilometers (6,178 square miles) and is less than 20   
      meters (66 feet) deep. It also has a large tidal range measuring around   
      3 meters (9.8 feet) overall in the rainy season and even greater in the   
      southeast end, near where the Alligator Rivers pour into the Gulf. The   
      large change in height between low and high tides create strong tidal   
      currents, which scour sediment off the Gulf’s floor and keep it   
      suspended in the waters, especially during or shortly after the rainy   
      season. This is the same time that sediment load in the numerous rivers   
      that reach the Van Diemen Gulf is at their peak.   
      
      The rainy season in western Top End typically begins in November and   
      ends by mid-May. Given that waters are still high and rivers full in   
      mid-June, the colors captured in Van Diemen Gulf in this image are   
      almost certainly primarily from sediment. Sediment appears mud-colored   
      near the surface but reflectivity changes as it sinks, so deeper   
      sediment appears green and sometimes blue. Similar colors can be   
      created by blooms of microscopic plant-like organisms called   
      phytoplankton, but studies have shown that sediment concentrations can   
      be high enough in the Gulf to suppress the growth of phytoplankton. The   
      colors off of the Tiwi Islands are also likely primarily sediment, but   
      conditions in the open water off the islands can also be favorable for   
      phytoplankton growth.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 6/13/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (20.5 KB),  500m (71.3 KB),  250m (229.8 KB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-06-14   
       
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