Aconcagua Wave Cloud
March 10, 2007
Provided by: Rene Heise, Mountain Wave Project
Summary authors & editors: Rene Heise
The photo above was taken from the cockpit of a glider plane and shows a close up view of a lenticularis cloud, which was formed by strong winds (over 100 km/h or 60 miles per hour) near the summit of Aconcagua (6,962 m or 22,743 ft). Aconcagua is the highest peak in all of South America. As part of the Mountain Wave Project (Operation Mendoza), we explored the turbulence around Aconcagua and observed vertical wind velocities of +/- 10 m/s (about 33 feet per second). Note that the circular feature at top is a reflection from the cockpit or a lens artifact. Photo taken on October 14, 2005.
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