fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Unique phenomenon causing Jersey Shore beaches to resemble tropical waters

Nypost · · 734 words · By FOX Weather
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Unique phenomenon causing Jersey Shore beaches to resemble tropical waters

Unique phenomenon causing Jersey Shore beaches to resemble tropical waters See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Unique phenomenon causing Jersey Shore beaches to resemble tropical waters See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleIf you’re looking for tropical waters, you may not have to travel that far.

Common ground

The color of the ocean is appearing brighter than normal with a turquoise blue tint along the Mid-Atlantic coast, and there’s a reason for it.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/27/us-news/unique-phenomenon-causing-jersey-shore-bea…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 3
check_circle Corroborated 2
verified Verified 2
info Single Source 2
cancel Disputed 1
schedule Pending 1
verified
Claim 1: “Scientists say the blue waters come from phytoplankton, which are microscopic plant-like organisms that float near the ocean’s surface.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and NASA Science both define phytoplankton as microscopic plant-like organisms that live in the surface layers of the ocean.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Phytoplankton obtain their energy through photosynthesis, as trees and other plants do on land. This means phytoplankton must receive sunlight, so they live in the well-lit surface layers (euphotic zo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoplankton
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dec 8, 2025 · What are Phytoplankton? Derived from the Greek words phyto (plant) and plankton (made to wander or drift), phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments, both …
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/what-are-ph…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Phytoplankton are mostly microscopic, single-celled photosynthetic organisms that live suspended in water. Like land plants, they take up carbon dioxide, make carbohydrates using light energy, and rel…
https://www.whoi.edu/ocean-learning-hub/ocean-topics/ocean-l…
check_circle
Claim 2: “Starting in early April, satellites started detecting a patch of brownish, blue-green water lingering off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources (NASA Science and Amed Post) explicitly state that satellites detected brownish, blue-green water off the coasts of NJ, DE, MD, and VA starting in early April.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The watershed of the Delaware River drains an area of 14,119 square miles (36,570 km2) and encompasses 42 counties and 838 municipalities in five U.S. states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Delaware_River_tributa…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Jersey (sometimes colloquially shortened Jersey) is a state located in both the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the heavily urbanized …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also referred to as the Delaware Valley or Greater Philadelphia, is a major metropolitan area in the Northeastern United States that centers on Philadelphia, the si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_metropolitan_area
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “In this area, coastal phytoplankton blooms initiate in the winter and summer”
VERIFIED
A NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment source explicitly states that coastal phytoplankton blooms in the Mid-Atlantic Bight initiate in the winter and summer.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Primary productivity is highest in the nearshore and estuarine regions, with coastal phytoplankton blooms initiating in the winter and summer, although the
https://www.integratedecosystemassessment.noaa.gov/regions/n…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The outer shelf-break/slope region was associated with the spring bloom. Although blooms in these two regions were separated in both space and time; however the ...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02784…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Feb 6, 2022 ... A winter phytoplankton bloom occurs on the middle and outer shelf, while a spring bloom occurs on the outer shelf-break and slope region (
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles…
check_circle
Claim 4: “Satellite imagery from NASA showcases the color change, with the ocean appearing much brighter than normal in areas such as the Jersey Shore.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources, including a NASA Science page and a news report, confirm that NASA satellite imagery showed the ocean appearing brighter/turquoise along the Jersey Shore.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2022 · Overall, the ocean is a dark midnight blue, almost black. However, bright milky blue ribbons of water are visible along the coast. These are ...
https://www.facebook.com/nasa.wallops/posts/the-waters-off-w…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 11, 2026 · Starting in early April, NASA satellites began to detect a patch of brownish, blue-green water lingering off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, ...
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/color-off-t…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 26, 2026 · Satellite imagery from Nasa showcases the color change, with the ocean appearing much brighter than normal in areas such as the Jersey Shore.
https://www.aol.com/articles/ocean-turns-tropical-turquoise-…
verified
Claim 5: “NASA’s Earth Observatory and Goddard Space Flight Center have been closely tracking the bloom as it expands across the Mid-Atlantic coast.”
VERIFIED
Wikipedia confirms that the NASA Earth Observatory and Goddard Space Flight Center are the primary entities for satellite imagery and space research, and the context of the bloom is reported by NASA Science.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Establi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddard_Space_Flight_Center
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the larg…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing outlet for NASA which was created in 1999. It is the principal source of satellite imagery and other scientific information about the climate and the env…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Earth_Observatory
+ 3 more evidence sources
cancel
Claim 6: “When sunlight hits chlorophyll inside dense concentrations of the organisms, the water reflects bright blue and turquoise tones visible from aircraft and orbiting satellites.”
DISPUTED
The claim states chlorophyll reflects bright blue and turquoise tones. However, a scientific source (tandfonline.com) explicitly states 'Chlorophyll does not reflect green light – how to correct a misconception,' and general knowledge/Wikipedia indicates chlorophyll is the green substance in plants. The 'turquoise' color in the ocean is typically a result of light scattering and water properties, not the chlorophyll reflecting blue light.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from light. Those pigments are involved in oxygenic photosynthesis, as opposed to bacteriochlorophylls, related molecules found only in bacteria and involved…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Chlorophyll does not reflect green light – how to correct a misconception.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00219266.2020.1…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Chlorophyll is the green substance in plants that makes it possible for them to make food from carbon dioxide and water. It’s found in all green plants, including leafy greens and other veggies we com…
https://draxe.com/nutrition/chlorophyll-benefits/
verified
Claim 7: “The Mid-Atlantic Bight falls between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly defines the Mid-Atlantic Bight as a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina, specifically mentioning Cape Hatteras to the south.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about 85,133,000 square kilometers (32,870,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefish
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mid-Atlantic Bight is a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina. It contains the New York Bight. It is separated from the South Atlantic Bight by Cape Hatteras to the south and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Bight
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 8: “Phytoplankton form the foundation of the marine food chain and are essential to ocean ecosystems.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Although the 'Evidence gathered' section says 'No evidence found', the Wikipedia and NASA Science results provided for Claim 5 explicitly describe phytoplankton as photosynthetic organisms that form the basis of the aquatic food web.
info
Claim 9: “Last year’s bloom turned water in the Atlantic and Cape May counties a bright blue for several weeks before disappearing, according to NASA.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about NASA and Cape Canaveral, which do not mention a specific bloom in Atlantic and Cape May counties from the previous year.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cape Canaveral and adjacent Merritt Island on Florida's Atlantic coast are home to the USA's Eastern Range, the most active rocket range and spaceport in the country. The Eastern Range hosts two groun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cape_Canaveral_and_Mer…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — From January 2020, to the end of 2022, Falcon 9 was launched 117 times, all successful, and landed boosters successfully on 111 of those flights. Falcon Heavy was launched once and was successful, inc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_He…
schedule
Claim 10: “When algae dies and sinks to the ocean floor, it is consumed by bacteria. This process consumes oxygen in the water and if the levels drop too low, it can stress and potentially kill fish and shellfish”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 11: “The colors and patterns appear to be most intense in the shallow coastal zone where the waters of Raritan Bay, Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay merged with the Atlantic Ocean — an area known as the Mid-Atlantic Bight.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific detail about the colors being most intense where Raritan, Delaware, and Chesapeake Bays merge is only found in the Amed Post snippet. While Wikipedia confirms the existence of these bays, it does not confirm this specific observation of intensity.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jamaica Bay (also known as Grassy Bay) is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_Bay
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary, also known as the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, is in the northeastern states of New Jersey and New York on the East Coast of the United States. The system of waterwa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York–New_Jersey_Harbor_Est…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raritan_Bay
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.