File:Sea Ice and Cloud Streets off Alaska (MODIS 2024-01-31).jpg

English: On January 28, 2024, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a true-color image of a frosty scene over the Bering Sea and Western Alaska.

The study in winter white captures snow-covered land, frozen sea ice, and offshore clouds—each separated by distinct edges that make it easy to distinguish one feature from the next. Fast ice hugs the coast of western Alaska and Nunivak Island, where it receives the full chilling effect of frigid offshore winds and where the water is shallower and fresher than in the open sea. The newly-formed edges of the sea ice appear to have been broken by the action of wind, waves, and the currents that flow in the Bering Sea.

In addition, a large sheet of cumulus cloud has been combed into long parallel rows by the action of strong, cold winds crossing the Bering Sea. Called “cloud streets,” this spectacular formation occurs when cold air blows over ice and snow and encounters moist air over open water. The interaction of the air masses can cause the formation of parallel cylinders of spinning air. Clouds form along the upward cycle in the cylinders, where air is rising, and skies remain clear along the downward cycle, where air is falling.