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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