Noon 3 May 2007. Ireland basks in sunshine! This satellite image is a rare glimpse of the isle of Ireland without any cloud cover. A phytoplankton bloom can been seen in the Atlantic off the west coast. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that grow in the sunlit surface waters of the ocean. When enough of the plants grow in one place, the bloom can be seen as blue-green swirls in a normally black ocean. Photo: ESA.