ship tracks (IMAGE)

University of Utah

ship tracks

Caption

'Ship tracks' above the northern Pacific Ocean. These patterns are produced when fine particles from ship exhaust float into a moist layer of atmosphere. The particles seed new clouds or attract water from existing cloud particles. These tracks virtually disappeared after 2020 when shipping vessels switched to cleaner fuelds. Image taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite on July 3, 2010.

Credit

NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team.

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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