EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Archive - Satellite Snow Loop

January 30, 2021

Sat_loop

Every weekend we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD
was originally published January 27, 2004.

Referred by: Lee Grenci
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Lee Grenci

The satellite loop above shows a mostly snow-covered scene over a
portion of the northeastern U.S. It was taken during the late morning
and early afternoon (15:45 - 19:30 UT or 10:45 - 2:30 Eastern Standard
Time) on March 12, 2001. Notice the cloud deck approaching from the
southwest during the early afternoon hours. Snow and clouds look
similar from space, but satellite loops make monitoring and mapping
snow easier since clouds move and snow doesn't -- unless it's rapidly
melting. Also, notice that the northeastern portion of Lake Erie is
still ice-covered but that Lake Ontario (deeper than Lake Erie) is ice
free. As was mentioned with yesterday's Earth Science Picture of the
Day, dark splotches surrounded by brighter areas are more densely
forested regions, such as the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York
(upper right). However, the dark north-south streaks in southern New
York are ice-free Finger Lakes (Seneca Lake at left and Cayuga Lake at
right).


Related EPODs

Archive - Satellite Snow Loop Thunderstorm on the Mediterranean
Sea Red Sprites and GHOST Archive - Southern California
Wildfires Archive - Eye Wall of Katrina Shelf Cloud over Bonn,
Germany
More...

Severe Weather Links

* World Severe Weather Information Center
* Enhanced Fujita Scale
* A Lightning Primer
* More About Thunderstorms
* Staying Safe Outdoors in Severe Weather
* NOAA Storm Prediction Center
* Patterns of Lightning Activity
* US National Weather Service

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 6 weeks, 4 days, 21 hours, 27 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


A Bountiful Flock of Floccus Clouds

March 31, 2021

Ray Floccus Clouds

Photographer: Ray Boren
Summary Author: Ray Boren

On a pleasant day poised between autumn and winter, I strolled out
of a favorite bookstore in downtown Bountiful, Utah and happened to
glance upward. Directly overhead was a beautiful, cloud-splashed sky. I
had parked my car alongside a park-like city block featuring the
Bountiful Tabernacle, a Greek Revival meetinghouse built by
Mormon pioneers, which seemed an ideal counterpoint to the speckled
sky.

These are apparently altocumulus floccus clouds that looked very
much like billowy cotton or fleecy puffballs spilling across a blue
canvas. In meteorology, the Latin term altocumulus refers to high
and heaped, or massed, globular clouds at a medium altitude of about
6,500 to 22,000 feet (1,980-6,700 m) in elevation. Floccus
indicates that they resemble tufts of wool.

I wondered if this might be a mackerel sky, so-called for a
fish-scale pattern. Seeking a better understanding, I sent the image to
the Cloud Appreciation Society with a sheepish query, and a monitor
there responded that a mackerel pattern is more accurately associated
with similar Altocumulus undulatus clouds, which have a noticeably
undulating wave pattern, not obvious here. The World Meteorological
Organization’s International Cloud Atlas notes that Altocumulus
floccus clouds sometimes form when the base of a larger, crenelated
Altocumulus castellans formation dissipates, which is likely what
happened on this pretty day. Photo taken Nov. 30, 2020.
* Bountiful, Utah Coordinates: 40.88933, -111.87976

Related EPODs

A Bountiful Flock of Floccus Clouds Pink Virga Helical
Clouds Archive - South Sandwich Wakes Changing Clouds Ahead
Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds Over Albuquerque, New Mexico
More...

Cloud Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* The Cloud Appreciation Society
* Cloud Atlas
* Color and Light in Nature

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 5 days, 22 hours, 10 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

test


--- ENiGMA 1/2 v0.0.12-beta (linux; x64; 14.15.4)
* Origin: Xibalba -+- xibalba.l33t.codes:44510 (21:1/121)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


A Lacy Curtain of Stone

May 31, 2021


WhitePocketsCompresssionBandViewFromAfarByPhone
WhitePocketsCompresssionBandAngledPortrait

Photographer: Stan Wagon

Summary Author: Stan Wagon

Shown above is a remarkable lacy formation in the Navajo
sandstone of Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona. More detail can be seen in
the bottom photo. Tens of thousands of years ago, a thin (about 3 mm)
layer of sand here was compressed more than its surroundings. This
“ compression band” became a very thin curtain-like stone feature,
less permeable to water and therefore more resistant to erosion.

Photo details: SONY A6500 camera; 14 mm lens; 1/200 second exposure;
f13; ISO 250.


Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona Coordinates: 36.8625,
-111.8270


Related EPODs

A Lacy Curtain of Stone Archive - Schunemunk Mountain
Conglomerate Camel Rock, New Mexico Madison Limestone in the
Little Rockies of Montana Granite in Pico das Cabras Park, Brazil
Archive - Yosemite Valley
More...

Geology Links

* Earthquakes
* Geologic Time
* Geomagnetism
* General Dictionary of Geology
* Mineral and Locality Database
* Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
* This Dynamic Earth
* USGS
* USGS Ask a Geologist
* USGS/NPS Geologic Glossary
* USGS Volcano Hazards Program

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 3 weeks, 3 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Archive - Ridge Line Induced Crepuscular Rays

July 31, 2021

6a0105371bb32c970b0134883230c8970c Every weekend we present a
notable item from our archives. This EPOD was originally published
October 19, 2010.

Photographer: Piero Armando

Summary Author: Piero Armando; Jim Foster

With a fantastic view of the Italian Alps just to the west of where
I live, I'm fortunate enough to enjoy many splendid sunsets. The
photo above lacks the fine colors that results from many such sunsets
but displays an impressive array of crepuscular rays. Since the sky
is free of cumulus turrets that often are responsible for rays,
they must form in another way. In fact, these rays are due to natural
gaps and prominences along the ridge line as well as the presence of
dust and haze in the lower atmosphere. These aerosols are very
effective in scattering sunlight. It's easy to see just where
sunlight is blocked (spurs) and allowed to stream through (notches).
Photo taken on September 1, 2010.

Photo details: Canon EOS 30D camera; manual mode; 1/1000 second
exposure; F7.1; focal length of 180 mm; image cropped.
* Turin, Italy Coordinates: 45.066667, 7.7

Related EPODs

Archive - Ridge Line Induced Crepuscular Rays Circumhorizon Arc
over Viterbo, Italy Noctilucent Clouds Above Paris on a Summer’s
Eve Archive - Lake Misurina in the Dolomite Alps Upper Tangent
Arc Observed over San José Pinula, Guatemala Rainbows Over the
Italian Shoreline
More...

Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Color and Light in Nature
* The Colors of Twillight and Sunset
* Refraction Index
* Image Gallery: Atmospheric Effects
* What is a Rainbow?

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 12 weeks, 1 day, 12 hours, 15 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)