NASA-NOAA captured Suomi NPP satellite Images of the three Von Kármán eddies over the Canary Islands Released on March 19 and now. This phenomenon, also known as swirling cloudsIt is relatively common in the archipelago and occurs when certain favorable conditions occur in the atmosphere.
Von Kármán eddies are named after the Hungarian-American physicist Theodore Von Kármán, who formulated their development and amplification in 1911. liquid like atmosphere.
According to the State Meteorological Service (Aemet), These eddies form in regions dominated by subtropical anticyclones, such as Madeira and the Canary Islands, where there are stratocumulus or cumulus-type clouds.
As physicist Francisco Martín de León explains on the portal tiempo.com, “These regular cloud vortices are called von Kármán vortices, a distinctive pattern that can occur when a liquid passes through a long, isolated object. The liquid splits around the object, creating a vortex in the downwind direction. The linear chains of these eddies are called von Kármán vortex streets.
“Von Kármán eddies are regularly seen in satellite images. They can occur when an object interrupts the airflow.. In this case, they occurred when the winds tore the high volcanic peaks of the Canary Islands. Cloud eddies are often seen downwind of isolated islands, including near Guadalupe Island, off the coast of Chile, and in the Indian Ocean.
Von Karman eddies They have been known since the early 19th century when they were first described. By Stroubal in 1878. There were no satellites at that time and it was not possible to visually verify these images.
Von Kármán devoted a large part of his life to explaining this phenomenon using cylinders embedded in liquids that crash into obstacles and form eddies. In 1964, scientists Chopra and Hubert confirmed the existence of these structures near Madeira using polar moons. It was soon shown that von Kármán’s original hypotheses could explain the existence of these structures.
These images captured by the Suomi NPP satellite are impressive and allow us to appreciate the beauty and complexity of these atmospheric phenomena. Although von Kármán eddies do not pose a direct danger to the population, their work Important to better understand the behavior of the atmosphere and its impact on the climate and the environment.
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