Irbe Strait

The Irbe Strait connects the Gulf of Riga, a semi-enclosed bay, to the rest of the Baltic Sea. This Landsat 8 view was captured on February 28, 2022.

Revealing the patterns of water flow, colored swirls are likely due to suspended sediment, dissolved organic matter, or chlorophyll contained in phytoplankton.

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Images credit: Norman Kuring (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, retired)