MSGID: 1:317/3 6462732f
PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08
TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08
May 15, 2023 - Swirling Clouds off of Western Africa

   Clouds off West Africa
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   Fanciful patterns frequently form in the clouds off of western Africa
   and the twists and twirls are easily viewed from space. The Moderate
   Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra
   satellite acquired a true-color image of multiple lines of vortices
   spinning across the clouds behind the Canary Islands and Madeira Island
   on May 12, 2023. Madeira is north of the Canary Islands and has a
   longer design trailing towards the southwest behind it.

   These cloud patterns—known as von Kármán vortices—are a familiar
   atmospheric phenomenon, especially in areas where trade winds are
   prevalent. Physicist Theodore von Kármán, a co-founder of NASA’s Jet
   Propulsion Laboratory, was the first to describe the physical processes
   that create these chains of spiral eddies.

   Von Kármán vortices can form nearly anywhere that fluid flow—including
   an air mass, as shown here—is disturbed by a solid object. In this
   case, winds blowing across the ocean are disturbed by small but tall
   islands that poke above the surface of the North Atlantic. The air
   mass, and clouds moving with it, blows around instead of over the
   island, creating winding, twirling patterns from the turbulent air flow
   behind the islands. The shape and length of the patterns depend on
   several factors, including wind speed, cloud cover, and shape of the
   object blocking the flow of the wind.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 5/12/2023
   Resolutions:  1km (2.3 MB),  500m (6.4 MB),  250m (5.4 MB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-05-15
 
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