Wakes of ships in the Sea of Japan
| Disturbances on the surface of the Sea of Japan can be seen in this photograph due to the reflection of the Sun off the water. This phenomenon is called "sunglint". At the top of the image is a large spiral eddy off the coast of Honshu, Japan. The V-shaped features in the center of the scene are ship wakes that record the ship traffic in this area. Among these ship wakes, the wider V's indicate slower-moving ships, such as tankers or freighters, while narrower V's indicate faster moving ships, such as naval vessels. Shipment of goods with a high cost-to-weight ratio, such as oil and wheat, typically occurs via tankers and freighters. Transport of goods by sea is generally less expensive than by land, and much less expensive than by air. This image was taken on shuttle flight STS-40. |
Credit: Courtesy Kam Lulla, JSC. For more images of this type, see the "Human Imprints from Space" slide set (Gwynn, Wilkinson, and Lulla; Lunar and Planetary Institute #989)
For more info: http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/iams/images/earth/STS040/html/20015597.htm