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Where is it?Bear Island , Svalbard [ 74.43137835 , 19.058443166 ]
What ’s in the photo?Atmospheric vortices in the cloud and a swirling algal bloom in the ocean
A 2023 photo captured von Kármán vortices in the clouds above Bear Island (upper left) alongside a gigantic algal bloom (center).
Which planet took the photo?NASA Aqua
When was it taken?July 13 , 2023
This spectacular satellite shooter shows a pair of co-occurrent phenomenon paint parallel swirls in the sea and sky palisade Bear Island . The isolated ground pile , also known as Bjørnøya , is situate in Norway ’s Svalbard archipelago and is surrounded by extremely radioactive water that may endanger local wildlife — which , ironically , does not let in many bear .
Bear Island was named after polar bears but the white bears are actually rarely seen on the island.
In the upper left box of the simulacrum , a gap in the clouds is trailed by a series of interlinked swarm vortex that appear to have been platted together like a pretzel . These vortex , known as von Kármán vortices , are formed when clouds get grab up in an airflow that has been disrupted by a magniloquent land mass , most often above an ocean , according toNASA ’s Earth Observatory .
In this suit , the convolution are created by clouds pass overMiseryfjellet , the largest mountain on Bear Island . Miseryfjellet , which understand to " misery mountain , " has three peaks : Urd , Verdande and Skuld , named after a tercet of deities from Norse mythology , known as the Norns . The tallest peak , Skuld , stands around 1,759 feet ( 536 m ) above sea grade .
In the center of the image , a gigantic bloom of photosynthetic algae , or phytoplankton , can be watch swirling near the aerofoil of the Barents Sea . The light green hue of the algal artwork are the result of chlorophyl — the paint in algae and plant life that permit them to convert sunlight into energy , viaphotosynthesis . The corkscrew shapes of the bloom , which spans up to 250 mi ( 400 km ) across , are the result of ocean current .
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The simultaneous appearance of von Kármán whirlpool and the algal bloom is a consummate coincidence and the two phenomenon are in no way connected , according to Earth Observatory .
Bear Island
Dutch explorers first break Bear Island in the late 16th C and named it after apolar bear(Ursus maritimus ) that was insure swim nearby . However , polar bear are rarely look on the island , which is one of the most southern stage in Svalbard and is rarely accessible to the snowy bears via Arctic ocean ice .
For example , in 2019 , researcher stationed at the Bjørnøya weather station spotted a polar bear for the first time in more than 8 years , according toPolarBearScience.com .
Instead , the island ’s most abundant residents let in foxes , seal and seabirds . In full , around 1 million seabirds pull together along the island ’s cliffs every yr during the breeding season , accord to Earth Observatory .
— Gravity waves spark couple of stark cloud ripple above uninhabited island
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However , in late old age , fearfulness have been arouse about how these hiss and the residue of the island ’s ecosystem could be impact by an strange spike heel in radioactivity leaking from a Cold War - earned run average atomic hoagie , K-278 Komsomolets , which sunk to the seafloor in 1989 roughly 115 nautical mile ( 185 kilometer ) southwest of Bear Island .
In 2019 , theBBC reportedthat the storey of radiation in the water surrounding the submarine were 800,000 time higher than normal , thanks to continued leakage from the watercraft ’s nuclear reactor . However , it is still unclear whether this could be bear upon the wide marine surroundings .
