Vortex in the Gulf of Policastro
Tyrrhenian Sea | Southern Apennine Peninsula
Date of acquisition: October 29th, 2023 | 09:59:34 UTC
Sensor: Sentinel-2 L2A
Coordinates: ca. 39.97°N, 15.49°E
The Sentinel-2 satellite image presented here shows a beautiful, almost regular ring-shaped vortex (Figure 1) in the Gulf of Policastro, a bay in the south-eastern part of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was formed under the influence of a current that runs counter-clockwise along the northern coast of Sicilyand then south-west of the Apennine Peninsula. The current hits the Costa degli Infreschi e della Masseta on its way and, with a certain combination of water speed and water colour of differentwater masses, large and locally stable eddies can be observed from above. The diameter of the circle in this case is about Ø≈9.2km.
Another eddy, not as large, but more complex (Figure 2) can be observed further south along the coast near the small settlements of Cetraro and Acquappesa.
