Plankton blooms form when nutrients from upwelling or cold water currents are warmed by the sun. These blooms often multiply rapidly into a variety of shapes. This plankton species has developed an extensive network of stringers, and the stringers’ distribution is probably controlled by surface currents in the water. The approximate size of this particular bloom is 60 miles (100 kilometers) in width and 120 miles (200 kilometers) in length. The southern end of the Great Barrier Reef (called Swain Reefs) can be identified near the northern edge of the scene, which places the bloom in the Capricorn Channel off the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia.