That can be used as a proxy for phytoplankton population in a given area, since the tiny organisms live close to the ocean's surface, where they are exposed to sunlight they use to produce energy.

Scientists have found that a given population of phytoplankton can double its Numbers on the order of once per day.

When microscopic Marine organisms known as phytoplankton multiply into a dense population at the ocean's surface, massive blooms can spread so far that they can only be seen from space.