Like most islands created by volcanic activity, the topography of the Canary Islands is rugged; the islands jut sharply out of the Atlantic Ocean, rising more than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) at their peak. Tenerife Island claims the highest point, at 3,718 meters (12,198 feet).

Positioned just off the coast of Africa, the Canary Islands are in the path of near-constant trade winds. The combination of fast-flowing wind and the flat, cliff-like faces on the tall peaks creates the perfect setting for turbulent air flow. When clouds are present, the patterns that rise from the air bouncing off the unmoving mountains may be seen from space.

On February 27, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of cloud vortices over the Canary Islands.

Known as von Kármán vortices, such swirls were named for Theodore von Kármán, the first scientist to describe the formation of such spiral eddies. These patterns can form nearly anywhere that fluid flow is disturbed by an object. In this case, the unique flow occurs as winds rush past the tall peaks on the volcanic islands. As winds are diverted around these high areas, the disturbance in the flow propagates downstream in the form of vortices that alternate their direction of rotation.

Image Facts

Satellite: Terra

Date Acquired: 2/27/2020

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used: 1,4,3

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC