May 29, 2022 - Ship Tracks over the Pacific Ocean

Ship Tracks in the Pacific
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In late May 2022, cloud-filled skies over the Pacific Ocean west of
Baja California were marked by distinctive, narrow, line-like streaks
of cloud, creating a distinctive pattern in the sky. The Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra
satellite acquired this true-color image on May 26.

These spectacular streaks are a type of cloud are known as “ship
tracks”. They mark the passing of ships on the ocean below the layer of
marine stratocumulus clouds and are actually created by the emission
from those ships. Some particles released by ocean-going vessels
(especially sulfates) are soluble in water and, as they rise in the
atmosphere, the particles serve as the seeds around which cloud
droplets form. Clouds infused with ship exhaust have more and smaller
droplets than unpolluted clouds. As a result, the light hitting the
polluted clouds scatters in many directions, making them appear
especially bright and thick.

While ship tracks can be found in any season, they are most often
reported in May, June, and July. Ship traffic remains fairly constant
throughout the year, so the formation of ship tracks is considered to
be due to environmental or atmospheric conditions, such as the
frequency of the formation of low cloud layers, rather than just the
presence of ships.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 5/26/2022
Resolutions: 1km (496.9 KB), 500m (1.3 MB), 250m (999.9 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-05-29

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