Great Whirl off Somali Coast
This chlorophyll-a image captured by ISRO’s OCEANSAT-2 OCM instrument on 12 October 2010 clearly shows the Great Whirl off the Somali coast. The Great Whirl is a mesoscale feature (~450 km) associated with high chlorophyll concentration along its periphery. This circulation is caused by the north easterly acceleration of the Somali current through the Socotra passage around Socotra Islands. Such features are commonly seen in ocean-colour data during the transition period of the southwest to northeast monsoon in this region. Image provided by Prakash Chauhan, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).