NASA Photo ID: STS057-90-009       File Name: 10073299.jpg
  Film Type: 70mm                    Date Taken: 07/01/93
  Title: STS-57 Earth observation of King Sound in northwest Australia
  Description:
  STS-57 Earth observation taken aboard Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, 
  is of King Sound in northwest Australia.  Roebuck Bay with the city of
  Broom  on its northern shore is south of King Sound.  Sediment in the sound
  is  deposited by the Fitzroy River, which is the major body draining the 
  Kimberley Plateau about 200 miles to the west.  The extent of the tidal
  flats  around the Sound is indicated by the large white areas covered with
  a salty  residue.  According to NASA scientists studying the STS-57 Earth
  photos,  northwest wind gusts are ruffling areas of the water's surface at
  the mouth  of King Sound and in neighboring Collier Bay.  Therefore the
  water is less  reflective and dark.  The higher reflectance on the
  brightest areas is caused  by biological oils floating on the surface and
  reducing the capillary wave  action.  The scientists point out that the
  oils take the forms of the  currents and eddies in the picture.  These
  eddies indicate that the water  offshore is moving at a different speed
  than the water along the coast.   Lacepede, the small island off the coast,
  has a phytoplankton bloom nearby,  where nutrient-rich deeper waters have
  been mixed with the surface waters in  sufficient quantities for bloom to
  occur.     
  Subject terms:
  AUSTRALIA                               
  BAYS (TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES)             
  EARTH OBSERVATIONS (FROM SPACE)         
  ENDEAVOUR (ORBITER)                     
  INDIAN OCEAN                            
  ISLANDS                                 
  OCEAN CURRENTS                          
  PHYTOPLANKTON                           
  RIVERS                                  
  STS-57                                  
  WATER CURRENTS
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