Sediment along the Queensland Coast Sediment remained suspended
in the waters off the Queensland coast of Australia in the wake
of Tropical Cyclone Yasi. The Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this
natural-color image on February 5, 2011. Ocean water that would
normally appear navy, instead sports shades of peacock blue.
Nearer the coast, the water appears green, especially north of
Townsville. The water nearest the shore has likely acquired its
sediment load from river runoff, while water farther out to sea
probably holds sediment churned up from the sea floor. The
sediment is suspended around the Great Barrier Reef. Twice-daily
images of northeast Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid
Response System. This image originally appeared on the Earth
Observatory. Click here to view the full, original record.