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June 30, 2020 - Clouds off West Coast of North America
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A stunning scene was written in the clouds off California’s coast on June 26, 2020, and was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite. A large bank of marine stratocumulus cloud hung over the Pacific Ocean, spanning hundreds of kilometers from north to south and east to west. The lumpy, sheet-like bank of clouds was disrupted by a sinuous wave of nearly-clear sky.
Marine stratocumulus clouds are common over the Pacific Ocean west of California – and, indeed, off the western coast of all continents. They are created by upwelling, the process that causes cool water from deep in the ocean to rise to replace surface water. Off the western edge of continents, the movement of the Earth as it spins on its axis pushes the ocean surface waters westward, and this motion sets upwelling in motion – first the surface moves west, then the deeper waters are pulled upward to replace them. Upwelling creates a layer of cool water at the surface, which cools the air immediately above the water. As the moist, marine air cools, water vapor condenses into water droplets, forming clouds.
The curving wave of nearly-clear air is mostly likely caused by a disruption of the air flow, most likely caused by steadily moving air hitting a tall, immobile object. San Clemente Island sits off the coast of California approximately where the wave starts, and that is likely the source of the turbulent wave in the west-ward flowing air.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 6/28/2020
Resolutions:
1km (686.5 KB), 500m (2.1 MB), 250m (4.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A stunning scene was written in the clouds off California’s coast on June 26, 2020, and was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite. A large bank of marine stratocumulus cloud hung over the Pacific Ocean, spanning hundreds of kilometers from north to south and east to west. The lumpy, sheet-like bank of clouds was disrupted by a sinuous wave of nearly-clear sky.
Marine stratocumulus clouds are common over the Pacific Ocean west of California – and, indeed, off the western coast of all continents. They are created by upwelling, the process that causes cool water from deep in the ocean to rise to replace surface water. Off the western edge of continents, the movement of the Earth as it spins on its axis pushes the ocean surface waters westward, and this motion sets upwelling in motion – first the surface moves west, then the deeper waters are pulled upward to replace them. Upwelling creates a layer of cool water at the surface, which cools the air immediately above the water. As the moist, marine air cools, water vapor condenses into water droplets, forming clouds.
The curving wave of nearly-clear air is mostly likely caused by a disruption of the air flow, most likely caused by steadily moving air hitting a tall, immobile object. San Clemente Island sits off the coast of California approximately where the wave starts, and that is likely the source of the turbulent wave in the west-ward flowing air.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 6/28/2020
Resolutions:
1km (686.5 KB), 500m (2.1 MB), 250m (4.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
