In this video, we observe a naturally occurring von Kármán vortex street, a fluid dynamics pattern of swirling vortices resulting from the unsteady separation of flow over a bluff body, such as an island. This phenomenon arises when the Reynolds number falls within a specific range in the laminar regime. Clouds serve as an ideal medium to visualize these vortices, making them distinctly visible in the atmosphere. The image was captured by NASA’s Landsat 9 satellite and published by USGS on YouTube in their “Image of the Week” series in March 2024. The following images, captured by Landsat satellites over its 50-year span, not only showcase similar phenomena but also stand as masterpieces of natural art.
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First Prize!
It’s just totally fascinating to see this phenomena generating around islands. The scale of it all is staggering, and it’s awesome how the flow principles work at such a large scale. It isn’t totally obvious to me that they should!
Third Prize: I love these photos and have seen them many times before. They’re an amazing example of predictable fluid flow with an obvious pattern surrounded by chaos and turbulence. It’s a fascinating phenomenon that becomes even more interesting when you look at the math behind the physics.
Second Prize
Von Kármán vortex streets are one of my favorite fluid phenomena, and this photo illustrates the scale of this particular one. Additionally, I like how the blue ocean beneath the clouds draws attention to the vortices, and how the clouds become somewhat patchy towards the center of each vortex, clearly showing the direction of rotation.