[:ja]NASAの地球観測衛星Aquaが撮影した、北太平洋の航跡雲です。

船舶の航行時に排出される排気ガスの一部、特に硫酸塩粒子は水に溶けやすく、湿った気象条件の海洋上において、この粒子が核となって雲を形成します。中には数百kmにおよぶものもあり、細い方の端はできたばかりで、太く波打っている方の端ほどできてから時間が経っています。
参考文献: Summer Ship Tracks in the Pacific (NASA Earth Observatory)
地球俯瞰画像を見る: LiVEARTH
[Earthview Wonders] No.632: Ship Track Cloud
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured long, narrow clouds Known as ship tracks or ship track clouds in the North Pacific Ocean.

The distinctive clouds form when water vapor condenses around the tiny particles emitted by ships in their exhaust. Ship tracks typically form in areas where thin, low-lying stratus and cumulus clouds are present. Some particles generated by ships, especially sulfates, are soluble in water and serve as the seeds around which cloud droplets form.
Reference: Summer Ship Tracks in the Pacific (NASA Earth Observatory)
See earthview photo gallery: LiVEARTH[:en][Earthview Wonders] No.632: Ship Track Cloud
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured long, narrow clouds Known as ship tracks or ship track clouds in the North Pacific Ocean.

The distinctive clouds form when water vapor condenses around the tiny particles emitted by ships in their exhaust. Ship tracks typically form in areas where thin, low-lying stratus and cumulus clouds are present. Some particles generated by ships, especially sulfates, are soluble in water and serve as the seeds around which cloud droplets form.
Reference: Summer Ship Tracks in the Pacific (NASA Earth Observatory)
See earthview photo gallery: LiVEARTH[:]