iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

It's tempting to overlook white clover flowers as drab and uninteresting. Take time to look closer.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Laima had planned to grill our dinner until she discovered these under the burners. Food is now cooking indoors.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Across the continental shelf off the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, #phytoplankton & #suspendedSediment paint the ever moving waters with patterns that can only be seen from the high vantage point of airplanes & spacecraft. A large version of this image: photos.app.goo.gl/LaWrG8x2V6Hz... #Landsat8

The tans, grays, browns, and greens of New Jersey fill the upper left corner of this image while the blues, aquamarines, and greens, and browns of the Atlantic Ocean swirl in the remainder of the image.

The data for this image were collected by Landsat 8 / OLI on April 27, 2026 at 15:34 UTC.

Phytoplankton and suspended sediments color the coastal waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight from Long Island south past the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

These data were collected by Landsat 8 / OLI on April 27, 2026 at 15:34 UTC.

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

1/ There's a system of ocean currents in the Atlantic that shapes Europe's #climate, drives monsoons, and keeps sea levels stable along the US coast. In the last 5 years, the scientific evidence that it could collapse has shifted dramatically. Most people have no idea. 🧵

Globe showing the Atlantic Ocean with arrows depicting the AMOC circulation: warm surface currents (pink/red) flowing northward from the tropics toward the Arctic, and cold deep return currents (blue/purple) flowing southward. The background shows sea surface temperature trends, with a prominent blue cold patch, the "cold blob", south of Greenland, contrasting with warming (orange/red) across the rest of the ocean.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Spring in the NW Atlantic You can see the edge of the #GulfStream here marked by both a transition in cloud cover & by a change in ocean color (from blue to green). News about that current's future is troubling (doi.org/10.1126/scia...). #PACE_OCI Larger image: photos.app.goo.gl/TVZLA1kwwTR3...

This is a perspective projection of data collected by PACE / OCI on April 12, 2026 shows the tans and greens of North America covered by white clouds and some snow in the upper left half of the image along the horizon. In the foreground (lower right), gaps in the white cloud cover reveal the blue of the Atlantic Ocean with green and turquoise ribbons of phytoplankton blooms as well as some shallow banks such as those around The Bahamas and Bermuda.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

#Phytoplankton in the northern #RossSea color the sea ice green in early March, 2026. Full-sized #Landsat9 scene available here: photos.app.goo.gl/xQBshRUmkiBj...

White icebergs and green sea ice float beneath the cloud cover at the northern edge of the Ross Sea.

This Landsat 9 / OLI-2 image was collected on March 9, 2026 at 19:29 UTC.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Winter winds push cool dry air across the southeastern United States. Once the winds reach the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, they pick up moisture, and rotating convective cells form #cloudstreets. A larger version of this image is here: photos.app.goo.gl/fy4RGMyyTK54... #VIIRS

A view of the southeastern United States from about 2550 kilometers above the western Caribbean. White cloud streets frame the coastline.

The image was created from data collected by Suomi-NPP/VIIRS on February 1, 2026.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Summertime is very productive in the #RossSea along the Antarctic coast. This enhanced view shows the #phytoplankton blooming there on January 25, 2026. A larger version of the image showing more of the sea + McMurdo Sound & Ross Island is available here: drive.google.com/file/d/1xLOb... #Landsat8

White icebergs and sea ice fill the lower left corner of the image while lines of white clouds and their dark shadows stretch towards the upper right. The rest of the image is filled with the blue, green, yellowish, and reddish swirls of the Ross Sea and the phytoplankton blooms it contains. The bloom colors have been enhanced to make them more visible.

These data were collected by Landsat 8 / OLI on January 25, 2026 at 20:38 UTC.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

The #Agulhas Current turbulently interacts with the continental shelf south of #CapeStFrancis leading to phytoplankton blooms (that color the ocean) & internal waves (that become visible by modifying surface smoothness). The full #Landsat8 scene is available here: photos.app.goo.gl/ps2geDxPWn4U...

Green and turquoise swirls in the blue ocean south of green and tan Cape St. Francis, South Africa indicate the presence of phytoplankton blooms.

Sun glint highlights both surface swells (tiny linear repeating patterns having mostly the same orientation) and internal waves (larger, more widely spaced criss-crossing patterns).

Several large ships and their wakes also traverse the ocean pixels.

This image was collected by Landsat 8 / OLI on January 24, 2026 at 8:11 UTC.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Filamentous phytoplankton blooms fill the western #ArabianSea on January 19, 2026. The likely culprit: www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/feature... A larger version of the entire northern Indian Ocean region is here: photos.app.goo.gl/GA3JmT9z79Af... #PACE_OCI

The tan desert landscape of Oman in the upper left (northwest) corner of the image contrasts with the blue of the Arabian Sea and white clouds in the rest of the image. Many ribbons of green (likely slicks of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate, Noctiluca scintillans) highlight convergence zones in this turbulent region of the northern Indian Ocean.

PACE/OCI data collected on 19 January 2026

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Smoke from fire just north of the River Rioni drifts westward from the Georgia coastline over the eastern Black Sea. A larger, higher-resolution version of the image is here: photos.app.goo.gl/qA1F2iGX8Z3C... #Landsat9

The blue waters of the Black Sea painted with turquoise swirls of suspended sediment and phytoplankton meet the green Georgia coastline on the right surrounded by white, snow-covered Caucasus Mountains. A smoke plume drifts westward across the sea.

This Landsat 9/OLI-2 image was collected on January 7, 2026.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

For no particular reason, here are some views of #Montenegro and #Albania collected by #Landsat8 today. You can get a full-resolution image here: photos.app.goo.gl/Skgk8Rvi5LLA... Happy 2026!

View of coastal Montenegro and Albania collected on 1 January 2026 by Landsat 8/OLI

Cape of Rodon and Cape of Palla's Tail in Albania with blue-green swirls in the Adriatic Sea offshore.
Collected on 1 January 2026 by Landsat 8/OLI

Blue-green swirls in Lake Skadar on the Albania/Montenegro border
Collected on 1 January 2026 by Landsat 8/OLI

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

I'm saddened by this decision. During my years at Goddard, this library's technical reference books and journals -- publications that I would not have had easy access to elsewhere -- undergirded the work that I did. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...

nytimes.com

NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

Laima @laima-bean.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Lots of butterflies on our Joe Pye weed. Mostly Tiger swallowtails but also a lone Monarch! 🦋 #nativeplants #monarchbutterfly #tigerswallowtail #joepyeweed

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Summertime #cyanobacteria blooms persist in the southwestern #BalticSea, highlighting eddies and other flow lines in the region. Ship wakes cut through the surface slicks. Clusters of white dots are offshore wind farms. #Landsat8 Larger image available here: photos.app.goo.gl/DN9j9qQHtd9s...

Eddies and ribbons of cyanobacteria blooms paint the otherwise blue waters of the southwestern Baltic Sea. The land on the left (west) is Denmark; along the top right lies Sweden; the peninsula protruding into the bottom center belongs to Germany.

This scene was collected by Landsat 8 on August 18, 2025 at 10:08 UTC.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

After sweltering in the Washington DC suburban heat and humidity this morning, I felt like looking at something cooler for a bit. #Landsat8 #Greenland The full Landsat 8 scene is here: photos.app.goo.gl/gWwxFH49WruT...

Landsat 8 image of Scoresby Sound in Greenland collected on July 6, 2025 at 13:39 UTC.

White icecaps rest atop rugged red, green, and buff mountains while striated off-white glaciers flow towards the blue and cyan fjords of the sound. White icebergs speckle the blue water's surface. Brownish suspended sediments emerge from the coastline at a couple of the valley mouths.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

This striking red invader of our garden was nearing adulthood until it met the bottom of my shoe. #LycormaDelicatula #EchinaceaPurpurea

A late instar nymph of Lycorma delicatula sits atop a young Echinacea purpurea flower. The nymph has black legs with white spots and a red and black carapace with white spots. The flower is green and yellow with hints of red.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

At the end of May, Canadian wildfire smoke drifted eastward across the North Atlantic while Saharan dust drifted westward across the tropical Atlantic. Meanwhile, phytoplankton bloomed in the waters below. A 100-megapixel version of this image is here: photos.app.goo.gl/F8RHdMoKLzX6... #PACE_OCI

A view of Earth composed of 9 orbits' worth of PACE/OCI data collected on May 31, 2025. The tans and greens of North America fill the upper left portion of the pictured globe. Northern South America is at the bottom. The tan Sahara occupies the right edge separated from greenish Europe in the upper right by the blue Mediterranean Sea. Bluish-white Greenland lies near the top of the globe. Tan-colored smoke from Canadian wildfires has drifted north, south, and eastward across the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time tan-colored dust has drifted westward across the Atlantic farther south (near the bottom of the image). Turquoise and green swirls of phytoplankton blooms can be seen around Iceland and in the North and Black Seas. The thinning ice of Canada's Northwest Passage stands out as a light blue band in the upper left. White clouds form myriad patterns over ice, land, and water.

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

Laima @laima-bean.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Thirty-four years ago 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

The American lawn: initially appealing in its uniformity, but ultimately boring, never mind being harmful to the environment. Native flora bring visual interest plus the rest of a fascinating ecosystem on their coattails. homegrownnationalpark.org/doug-tallamy/ photos.app.goo.gl/wVZpPmw7C7rB...

Colorful photos of plants and animals in and near Bowie, Maryland arranged in such a way as to spell out "MARYLAND NATIVE" against a black background. The following species are represented.

Anaxyrus americanus
Aquilegia canadensis
Aronia melanocarpa
Baptisia australis
Camponotus chromaiodes
Chelone glabra
Chelone obliqua
Chlosyne nycteis
Diogmites neoternatus
Epargyreus clareus
Eurybia divaricata
Impatiens capensis
Juglans nigra
Kalmia latifolia
Lindera benzoin
Lobelia siphilitica
Lonicera sempervirens
Misumessus oblongus
Nerodia sipedon
Pisaurina mira
Poecile carolinensis
Quercus alba
Salvia lyrata
Scolia dubia
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Sphex nudus
Spigelia marylandica
Symphotrichum laeve
Terrapene carolina
Zelus luridus

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

These are some of the flowers that were blooming in our yard on #EarthDay2025 .

Clockwise from top:
Bleeding heart
Fleabane
Golden Alexander
Wild geranium
Golden ragwort
Green and Gold

Center:
Moss phlox

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

The British Isles are seldom so cloud free, so I thought this recent #AquaMODIS view worth sharing, especially since the spring phytoplankton bloom had painted the ocean so nicely. John of Gaunt never got to see "This earth of majesty" from such a perspective. drive.google.com/file/d/18wpX...

An oblique view of mostly cloud-free western Europe shows phytoplankton blooms in the waters around the British Isles. Land surfaces are various shades of green and brown with some white snow-covered mountains. Atlantic Ocean and North and Baltic Sea waters have mostly, blue, green, and aquamarine hues. Surrounding clouds are white.
The source data for the image were collected during four orbits of the Aqua / MODIS instrument on April 7, 2025.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Walking through the woods Fagus grandifolia Opens in softness

Opening Fagus grandifolia bud:
The brown sheath has split revealing fuzzy light green buds inside.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

#LakePontchartrain, an estuary of the #GulfOfMexico, lies just north of #NewOrleans. It gains its color -- exaggerated here -- from suspended sediments, colored dissolved organic matter, phytoplankton, and various effluvia of human activity. #Landsat8 Larger image: drive.google.com/file/d/1hZw8...

Brown, tan, and green hues streak Lake Pontchartrain north of grayish New Orleans. The brown Mississippi River meanders through the bottom left quadrant of the scene. The connection to the Gulf of Mexico appears at the right side of the image. Lake Maurepas looks orangish-brown just to the left (west) of Lake Pontchartrain.

Landsat 8 scene collected at 16:31 UTC on 22 March 2025

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

There were very few duplicate signs at the "Hands off!" protest today. Most were homemade and expressed the bearer's personal issues -- sometimes rather humorously, sometimes rather NSFW -- with the current administration. P.S. This was not one of the funny ones.

Man near the Washington Monument wearing blue jeans and a blue Patagonia raincoat holds a protest sign with an image of Greenland.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

The ocean partially visible here covers about a third of Earth's surface and it bears the name Pacific but it can often be less than peaceful as the pictured extratropical cyclones in the north suggest. (The commas missing above are in the image.) photos.app.goo.gl/VQZuoXbVsuHz... #PACE_OCI

The data for this image of the North Pacific Ocean were collected over several orbits of the PACE/OCI instrument on February 26 (eastern half) and 27 (western half), 2025.

The characteristic comma shapes of three extratropical cyclones are visible in the northern half of this image. The predominant colors in the image are blue (the ocean) and white (the clouds and ice).

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

In and around China's Yellow River delta the land is carved up into rectangles. Lots of them. Really, I wouldn't want to count them all. There are other shapes too, but it's mostly rectangles. There are still more on display in this much larger image. drive.google.com/file/d/1iCp1... #Landsat8

Landsat 8 montage of the coastal region near the mouth of China's Yellow River. The data making up the image were collected on February 24, 2025 at 2:42 UTC.

Geometric shapes (mostly rectangles) tessellate the five panels of this image. Most of the shapes are green, blue, tan, or brown. Many are aquaculture ponds.

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

Laima @laima-bean.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Happy π Day!

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

This cyclonic eddy in the Gulf of Oman aligns the phytoplankton near its surface making its otherwise invisible streamlines visible. #Landsat8 Larger image: photos.app.goo.gl/zNB67GJgqQyP...

Surface slicks of green phytoplankton (most likely Noctiluca scintillans) trace out the spiral arms of a cyclonic eddy in the Gulf of Oman to the northeast of Muscat. Ships and their wakes can be seen cutting through the surface slicks.

The data for this image were collected by Landsat 8/OLI on March 8, 2025 at 06:28 UTC

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

John Pavlovitz @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Dear President Zelensky, As it is likely that our paths will never cross in person, I could not let this day go by without trying to reach you here. I come to you humbly as an American citizen who is thoroughly and completely embarrassed of our leaders. johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/to-preside...

johnpavlovitz.substack.com

To President Zelensky, From an Embarrassed American

Dear President Zelensky,

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

Laima @laima-bean.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I stand with Ukraine. President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people should have the United States support instead of the embarrassing treatment given by the White House.

media.tenor.com

a butterfly is sitting on top of a sunflower on a blue and yellow background

ALT: a butterfly is sitting on top of a sunflower on a blue and yellow background

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Tiny balloons Surf-jostled scintillators Predators & producers Mixotrophs keeping live green prey Phytoplankton factories fixing CO2 Balloons burgeon Green spans 1000km of Arabian Sea Altered climate New pattern Noctiluca scintillans www.nature.com/articles/nco... photos.app.goo.gl/YaCpcWVe4Jfy...

Green tendrils fill the blue water of the northern Arabian Sea. Tan deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa appear on the left (west) while the tans and greens of India and Pakistan appear on the right (east). The green tendrils in the water likely indicate the presence of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate, Noctiluca scintillans. White clouds stretch across the top and bottom of the image.

This image comprises data collected by PACE/OCI on February 17, 2025.

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Could someone place an order for 100 more Jasmine Crocketts for overnight delivery to the Democratic Party thx in advance

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Southern Africa: One flank green, the other blue Physics drives color. Ekman flow away from west coast = nutrient upwelling = many phytoplankton Warm water from tropics along east coast = few phytoplankton Rabbit hole: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Full size: photos.app.goo.gl/XLf3HMZDu27W...

The tans, browns, and greens of southern Africa divide the green and turquoise waters of the Benguela current system along the Atlantic coast from the more pure blue waters of the Agulhas Current along the Indian-Ocean coast.
Data for this image were collected by PACE/OCI on January 18, 2025.

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Reposted by Norman Kuring

Laima @laima-bean.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

I see people excited about DOGE. I don't disagree that there is waste in government spending. Congress sets the spending (Civics 101) and EVERYONE has a pet project in their home state. Giving a South African Billionaire access to the government checkbook is illegal. Congress needs to step up.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Summer brings intense #phytoplankton productivity to the #RossSea. These #CO2 eaters & #krill feeders highlight the swirls and ribbons of the local current field as do the #icebergs. Full #Landsat image: photos.app.goo.gl/GcP6B7AgRC3k... (graticule) photos.app.goo.gl/m67qABMMjbT3... (no graticule)

Green and turquoise swirls of phytoplankton decorate the blue water of the Ross Sea. White spots are icebergs entrained in the local current field. Image captured by Landsat 9 on January 18, 2025 (UTC)

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Born to immigrant parents on the Keweenaw Peninsula in 1909, my dad would have turned 116 today. Happy Birthday, Dad.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Despite all of its problems, Planet Earth is still a beautiful place to live. It's also the place we cannot live without. #PACE_OCI Larger version: photos.app.goo.gl/Ck4em1SyRvhe...

The counterclockwise spiral of a low-pressure system covers the northeastern United States, but the entire southern border and much of Mexico is cloudfree exposing blue and green offshore waters.
PACE/OCI imagery collected on November 21, 2024

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

During my #NASA years, the #SouthAtlantic off #Patagonia always burst with color in the spring. Now, new sensors witness this #phytoplankton diversity. This #PACE_OCI image seems a good candidate for exploring that sensor's #hyperspectral chops. Larger image: photos.app.goo.gl/9mkYn5QNCBGz...

PACE/OCI image showing phytoplankton blooming to the east of Argentina on November 30, 2024. Many shades of green, cyan, and blue in ribbons and swirls indicate different algal communities.

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

This year I'm thankful for all the ecosystem citizens visiting our yard. www.inaturalist.org/observations... www.inaturalist.org/observations... www.inaturalist.org/observations... www.inaturalist.org/observations... www.inaturalist.org/observations... www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Clockwise from upper left:
Strymon melinus
Eremnophila aureonotata
Euchaetes egle
Diogmites neoternatus
Misumessus oblongus
Morrisonia confusa

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

A lot of ship traffic passes through the #GulfOfSuez at the north end of the #RedSea. I wonder if any of the bright linear features shown here relate to that traffic. The full (30-meter) #Landsat scene is here: photos.app.goo.gl/WUQTRwmJ2rKF...

Northern Gulf of Suez
Landsat 9
2024-11-22 08:18 UTC

Central Gulf of Suez
Landsat 9
2024-11-22 08:18 UTC

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

I experimented with social media for a few years on Twitter, but darkness is creeping in there, so I'm opting for bluer skies going forward. All posts before this one migrated from Twitter (sans their URL links to larger images). Hello world... again....

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 22/10/2024

#Landsat9 flew overhead when a strong, katabatic wind blew out of the #Chugach Mountains on Oct. 18, 2024. Dust from the #CopperRiver valley was carried 230 km offshore before ducking under #GulfOfAlaska clouds. A full-sized version of this image is here:

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 08/10/2024

Five orbits and thirty bands of OCI data from NASA's PACE mission captured this view of western North America & the Pacific Ocean on September 30th, 2024. The #phytoplankton are partying in the early fall sunshine. A larger version of the image is here:

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 10/07/2024

One might think that it's hard to draw on water, but the ship wakes around #BlockIsland in the #northwestAtlantic belie that notion. They remain visible to #Landsat8 after a surprisingly long time. This scene was imaged on 3 July 2024. Larger version here:

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 14/06/2024

It was bound to happen sooner or later. We are growing native plants to attract insects to our yard, but we did not want this little invader that got trapped in our birdbath. 😟 #SpottedLaternfly #LycormaDelicatula

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 19/02/2024

Greetings to #OSM24 attendees gathered by the levees of the #MississippiRiver. The sediments, aerosols, CDOM, phytoplankton, & human infrastructure that many of you study all affected photons intercepted by #Landsat8 on January 31, 2024. Full scene here:

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 17/01/2024

#Aquaculture, wind turbines, shipping, #phytoplankton, suspended sediment, colored dissolved organic matter, sea ice, turbulence: lots going on in the waters of #KoreaBay around the islands of China's Changhai County. The full-resolution #Landsat9 scene:

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Norman Kuring @normankuring.bsky.social · 14/01/2024

#SuspendedSediment from the #RhoneRiver disperses in the #MediterraneanSea. #Landsat8 A full-resolution version is available here:

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