The sea ice coloured green in the Ross Sea
February marks the peak of summer in Antarctica, providing the opportunity to observe unusual phenomena affecting the continent's ice.
On 16 February, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites captured a rare image of green-tinged sea ice due to a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea. In 2017, the same phenomenon of green ice was observed in the same region, and according to scientists from Australia's Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, the green colour was caused by phytoplankton at the water's surface, which had discoloured the sea ice.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites allow the monitoring of polar regions and enable scientists to gain a better understanding of how their environment is evolving as a result of climate change.
