Description Springtime brings increased sunlight, bursts of nutrients, and changing water conditions to the Gulf of Alaska. The combination promotes massive blooms of phytoplankton—microscopic, plant-like organisms that turn sunlight into food and then become fodder for some of the richest fisheries on the planet. The image shows the southern Alaska coast and the Gulf of Alaska on May 2, 2014. It is a composite knitted together from several orbits of the Aqua satellite and its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Two comma-shaped cloud formations (image center and far left) dominate the skies over the North Pacific Ocean. These clouds were likely moving around and ahead of a low-pressure system, showing some cyclonic circulation. Dark green traces of a phytoplankton bloom are just visible off of the Alaska coast at top center.