Current Boundries and Sun Glint, Cape Hatteras, NC, USA

STS039-83-091 (28 April-6 May 1991) --- (HOLD PHOTO WITH BARRIER ISLANDS ALONG THE LEFT SIDE). This photograph of the water sunglint pattern along the Outer Banks of North Carolina was taken with a 70mm handheld camera equipped with color visible film and a 250mm lens. The islands appear as dark areas along the left side of the frame and Cape Hatteras is seen to the left and slightly above frame center. Sunglint is composed of light reflected from the water surface and the patterns seen in this photo are largely the result of sea surface roughness. Smooth water has a mirror-like reflectance and is represented in the photo as a bright area. Rough water, on the other hand, tends to disperse the light reflected from the water surface and, therefore, appears dark. Water currents in this area are extremely dynamic because the swift, northward flowing Gulf Stream (the offshore darker water along the right side of the photo) diverges from the coastline north of Cape Hatteras. The sharp line between bright and dark water is the western boundary of the Gulf Stream.