NASA Photo ID: STS057-90-009      File Name: 10073299.jpg

Film Type: 70mm CN                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.