Weather Satellite Imagery

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Weather Satellite Imagery

• Notes for Lab 4

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A note about clouds
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A note about clouds
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Types of Satellites

• Geostationary Satellites (GOES)
• Orbit above the equator and at the same rate as
  the earth rotates
• Always located above same region of earth
• Provides continuous coverage
• Use for lab
• Polar Orbiting Satellites (POES)
• Orbit closer to earth
• Provide better resolution, but only 2 times a
  day at a location

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Types of Imagery

• Visible (0.52-0.72 mm)
• Shortwave Infrared (3.78-4.03 mm)
• Upper Level water vapor (6.47-7.02 mm)
• Longwave Infrared 1 (10.2-11.2 mm)
• Longwave Infrared 2 (11.5-12.5 mm)

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Visible Imagery

• Useful for cloud and storm identification
• Measures reflected solar energy
• Bright objects reflect a lot of solar energy
• Only avaliable where the sun is up

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Visible Imagery
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Upper Level Water Vapor

• Useful for determining the water vapor content of
  the upper troposphere
• Measures emitted radiation from water vapor
• High concentrations of water vapor more
  emissions and more moisture
• High water vapor contents appear bright

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Longwave Infrared 1

• Useful for identification of clouds and severe
  weather
• Bright Objects are colder (emit less radiation),
  higher cloud tops usually bright
• Output is brightness temperature
• Works at night

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Radar View
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Identifying Objects

• Vertically developed clouds usually have cold
  tops, so look bright on IR, and thick (bumpy) and
  bright on visible
• Low stratus (flat clouds) are warmer, and so
  appear darker on infrared and visible
• Higher moisture amounts would tend to be
  associated with storms and clouds