NASA's
Terra satellite passed over the South Atlantic Ocean on November 15,
2012, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
instrument flying aboard to capture this true-color image of St. Helena
Island and the band of wind-blown cloud vortices trailing towards the
island's leeward side.
St. Helena Island is a tiny island lying
approximately 1,860 kilometers (1,156 miles) west of Africa. Volcanic
in origin, it has rugged topography with steep, sharp peaks and deep
ravines. Wind, which can blow unimpeded for hundreds of miles across the
ocean, strikes the face of the mountains, and is forced around the
unyielding terrain. As it blows around the island, the air spins on the
leeward side, much like a flowing river forms eddies on the downriver
side of a piling. The spinning wind forms intricate – and mathematically
predictable – patterns. When clouds are in the sky, these beautiful
patterns become visible from above.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team
No comments:
Post a Comment