What are the white spots in Atlantic Ocean seen from an airplane?

The most common white spots in the Atlantic Ocean seen from an airplane are caused by clouds, which are collections of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that form in the atmosphere. Clouds appear white due to the way they scatter sunlight, reflecting all wavelengths of visible light equally, giving them their characteristic bright appearance.

Depending on the altitude of the airplane and the type of clouds, various cloud formations can be observed. Some of the most commonly encountered cloud types include:

1. Cumulus Clouds: Cumulus clouds are puffy clouds that look like cotton balls and can be found at low altitudes. They are associated with fair weather and can appear as scattered individual clouds or merge to form larger clusters.

2. Stratus Clouds: Stratus clouds are flat, gray, and uniform clouds that cover large areas of the sky. They block sunlight, leading to overcast conditions.

3. Cirrus Clouds: Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy, and high-altitude clouds made up of ice crystals. They are composed of water vapor that has frozen into microscopic ice particles, making them appear as delicate white "mare's tails."

4. Cumulonimbus Clouds: Cumulonimbus clouds are towering, vertically developed clouds associated with thunderstorms. They have a dark, anvil-shaped top and can reach high altitudes, sometimes extending above the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

5. Stratocumulus Clouds: Stratocumulus clouds are a mixture of stratus and cumulus clouds. They appear as gray, rounded masses that cover the sky, often with breaks of blue sky in between.

In addition to clouds, other factors such as sunlight reflection off the ocean surface and ship wakes can also create white spots visible from an airplane. However, clouds are typically the most significant contributors to the white spots observed in the Atlantic Ocean from an aerial perspective.