Above: A Von Karman vortex street downwind of the Canary Island chain in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa on Feb. 27, 2015. Image credit: NASA Worldview. Editor's note ...

Kármán Vortex Effect: This phenomenon occurs when wind flows past a large, blunt object, creating swirling vortices. These vortices can alter the local wind direction near the object ...