When undular bores ripple through the atmosphere, they leave remarkable patterns in the clouds.
Published Oct 9, 2020
This distinctive V-shaped wave pattern can emerge behind mountains, ships, and ducks.
Published Dec 17, 2017
As winds streamed past the South Sandwich Islands, the disrupted flow created an interlocking series of wave clouds.
Published Feb 28, 2020
Like ripples on a pond, a series of long, circular wave clouds radiate out from the coast of West Africa in this pair of photo-like images.
Published Oct 20, 2007
The rise and fall of colliding air columns can make cloud patterns—gravity waves—similar to a boat’s wake.
Published Jul 14, 2016
An intricate interaction of waves shapes the clouds in the North Sea, making patterns that echo basic principles of nature.
Published Nov 25, 2011
The wave-like appearance of clouds over Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska are the result of colliding air masses.
Published May 18, 2017
A layer of marine stratocumulus clouds off the west coast of Africa displayed some particularly complex wave patterns.
Published May 16, 2020
Also known as nacreous clouds, they play an important role in the depletion of stratospheric ozone.
Published Feb 9, 2011
The troughs and ridges of atmospheric waves created a distinctive pattern in the clouds.
Published Nov 30, 2014
The island itself is almost too small see in this image, but it serves as the starting point for the clouds that flow toward the northeast in a giant V shape. Amsterdam Island is a volcanic summit, the northernmost volcano on the Antarctic tectonic plate.
Published Dec 30, 2005
Gravity waves are the atmosphere’s way of restoring balance, and can produce unusual cloud patterns.
Published Nov 26, 2017
