Satellite Eye for Galathea 3

Great Barrier Reef seen from Envisat.

The satellite image shows approximate 150 km of the Great Barrier Reef. This coral reef is the largest in the world and it stretches in total 2.300 km along the east coast of Australia. The image shows a small part of the reef near Cape York Peninsula in northern Australia. The imaged area is located 15º degrees south of the Equator (north of the town Cooktown). The ocean is tropical with a unique marine life along the reef. The reef itself is constructed of limestone from millions of dead animals and plants that once grew. Today a broad range of animals and plants are living on top of the dead material. The turquoises color in the image reveals the structure and geometry of the coral reef. The limestone is white and it reflects a large amount of sunlight. In contrast, the open sea does not reflect much light and therefore the ocean is dark blue. The Great Barrier Reef is a marine protected area. White clouds are mainly located over land in this image.

Technical information

MERIS Full resolution image is from Envisat and the date of acquisition is 4 December 2006 at time 00.01 UTC. The pixel size is 300m x 300m. The image is shown as a true-color image meaning that the colors red, green and blue observed from the bands at MERIS are combined in the red, green and blue channels for display.