Mystery Lights
While orbiting the planet in 2012, the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite detected something fishy off the coast of Argentina. About 200-300 miles offshore, a city of light appeared in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. There are no human settlements there, nor fires or gas wells. But there are an awful lot of fishing boats. Adorned with lights for night fishing, the boats cluster at the intersection of the continental shelf, the nutrient-rich Malvinas Current and the borders of the exclusive economic zones of Argentina and the Falkland Islands. The night fishermen are working the second largest squid fishery on Earth, using the lights to draw plankton, fish and squid to the surface. Watch the video to see a collection of satellite views that show how the boats move slightly each night to follow squid.
Why is there a city of light in the middle of the ocean?
This video was assembled from images taken by the Suomi NPP satellite over six nights in April 2012.
A composite image of Earth's lights also captures night fishing fleets in action.
The lamps that night fishermen use to attract catch shine so bright they can be detected from space.
Images taken by the Suomi-NPP satellite will help fisheries managers monitor fishing.
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Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA Earth Observatory
Night lights images courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory/NOAA National Geophysical Data Center
Fishing boat image courtesy of Jay Lawler © 2012
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Video editor
- Kayvon Sharghi (USRA)
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Writer
- Mike Carlowicz (Sigma Space Corporation)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:51 PM EDT.