July 24, 2019 - Great Bahama Bank and Andros Island

Not far off the southeast tip of Florida, the waters of the deep blue Atlantic Ocean suddenly shine with brilliant jewel-toned hues. The glow of turquoise and green mark underwater hills and broad banks, while the sandy-toned or green crests of the hills comprise the hundreds of islands of the Bahamas.

On July 21, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a stunning true-color image of the Grand Bahama Bank and Andros Island.

The waters of the wide and completely submerged Grand Bahama Bank owe their iridescence to the very shallow depth. At the edge of the Bank the water depth plunges precipitously from the shallow platform reef to thousands of feet below sea level. Off the northeast side of Andros Island, the remarkable “Tongue of the Ocean” can be seen. At its lowest point, the bottom of the Tongue of the Ocean lies about 14,060 feet (4,285 meters) lower than the Bahama Bank. The shallowest parts of the reef of the Bank are no more than three to seven feet deep. Along the tip of the Tongue, southeast of the tip of Andros Island, the reef edge appears to be deeply rippled. These are, in fact, dune-like waves of sand which have been folded and shaped by the action of the waves.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 7/21/2019
Resolutions: 1km (102.5 KB), 500m (276.1 KB), 250m (511.4 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC