NASA MODIS Image of the Day: December 1, 2009 – Ship-wave-shape Clouds by the South Sandwich Islands
NASA MODIS Image of the Day: December 1, 2009 - Ship-wave-shape Clouds by the South Sandwich Islands
Another example of ship-wave-shaped clouds is shown in this image, captured by the MODIS on the Terra satellite on November 23, 2009.
The clouds here are being perturbed by the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The cloud pattern is given its name because the ripples in the clouds resemble the V-shaped wakes left by moving objects, such as ships or even ducks. Here, as the wind flows past the islands, it is swept around and over. The cloud patterns form as the air alternately cools and warms on the wave peaks and troughs, causing clouds to form on the peaks, but not the troughs.
