The surface waters of this convergence zone host New Zealand's most diverse and prolific marine life.

The image to the right was taken by NASA's Aqua satellite on October 25, 2009. It reveals large eddies of plantlike organizms that have bloomed in recent weeks and provide the food to feed a wide diversity of ocean creatures farther up the food chain.

Known as phytoplankton, the microscopic plants use chlorophyll and other pigments to absorb sunlight for photosynthesis. When they grow in large numbers, they change the way the ocean surface reflects sunlight.

Caught up in eddies and currents, the blooms create intricate patterns of blues and greens that spread across thousands of square miles of the sea surface.

Especially bright blue areas may indicate the presence of phytoplankton called coccolithophores, which are coated with calcium-carbonate (chalk) scales that are very reflective. The duller greenish-brown areas of the bloom may be diatoms, which have a silica-based covering.

In addition to their importance as the foundation of the ocean food web, phytoplankton play a key role in the climate because, like plants on land, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

When they die, they sink to the ocean floor carrying the carbon that they took from the atmosphere.

Full story and image: NASA