Vortex street off Revillagigedo Archipelago, North Pacific
(afternoon overpass) Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response
Team, NASA/GSFC A braid of eddies behind the Revillagigedo
Archipelago in the North Pacific have created the fanciful
swirls in the clouds seen in these Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, acquired by the Terra
(morning) and Aqua (afternoon) satellites on May 13, 2004. The
eddies form as air moving near the surface of the ocean is
forced up and around the islands. The pattern became more
distinct through the day, with the afternoon image showing a
much clearer vortex street.