July 28, 2022 - Clouds around Isla Guadalupe

Clouds around Isla Guadalupe
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Isla Guadalupe sits in the Pacific Ocean off about 150 (240 km) off the
coast of Baja California, Mexico. Only 22 miles (35.4 km) long and 6
miles (9.6 km) wide, the broad northern face of the island juts 4,257
feet (1,297.5 km) above sea level.

Winds are frequent in this section of the Pacific Ocean, as are the
massive banks of marine stratocumulus cloud which frequently form off
the western coast of continents. When wind strikes an immobile
object—such as the face of Isla Guadalupe—the flow of the wind is
disrupted, causing it to flow around the object and swirls of turbulent
air develop on the lee side. In cloud-free skies, the flow of air is
invisible. Cloudy skies, however, create a perfect canvas to bring the
motion into view.

On July 26, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite captured a stunning true-color
image showing the atmospheric disruption caused by a small, tall island
painted into the clouds. Clouds can be seen pressing against the broad,
tall northern face of the island. As air is violently pushed eastward
and westward around the volcanic obstruction, clouds are also pushed
away from the island. As the air passes Isla Guadalupe, the spinning
air creates glorious patterns in the clouds.

These repetitive and predictable patterns are known as Von Kármán
vortices. They are named after Theodore von Kármán—an accomplished
mathematician, aerospace engineer, and one of NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory’s founders—who was the first to mathematically describe the
formation of these vortices behind immobile objects. Von Kármán
vortices will only form under certain conditions of air speed,
atmospheric stability, and obstacle size. Conditions around Isla
Guadalupe are often ideal for production of these gorgeous swirls,
especially in June, July, and August, when they occur almost every day.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 7/26/2022
Resolutions: 1km (152.6 KB), 500m (448.5 KB), 250m (320.5
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-07-28

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