Von Karman cloud vortices, satellite image. These cloud vortices (swirls down left) have been caused by the peak of Alexander Selkirk Island (bottom l

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Von Karman cloud vortices, satellite image. These cloud vortices (swirls down left) have been caused by the peak of Alexander Selkirk Island (bottom left) disrupting wind-blown clouds (white). Known as von Karman vortices, this phenomenon occurs at all levels, and is important in many areas of air and fluid flow. Alexander Selkirk Island rises kilometres above the southern Pacific Ocean. Image acquired in infrared wavelengths on 15 September 1999 by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensor on NASA's Landsat 7 satellite.

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Size: 5700px × 5700px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 7, 1999, alexander, atmosphere, atmospheric, climate, cloud, clouds, dynamics, earth, enhanced, environment, environmental, etm, etm+, fluid, geographical, geography, infrared, island, karman, landsat, mapper, meteorological, meteorology, mountain, observation, ocean, pacific, physics, satellite, sea, selkirk, september, space, thematic, topographical, topography, types, von, vortice, vortices, water, weather, wind, windy