Regional And Mesoscale Meteorology Team
Satellite Discussion
Wednesday February 11, 1998
Today's feature compares GOES-8 6.7 micrometer composites of minimum and maximum brightness count and average radiance from January 1997 with January of 1998 at 1815 UTC. The composites have been obtained by selecting the minimum/maximum brightness count warmest/coldest temperature) for each pixel at 1815 UTC. The 6.7 micrometer channel looks at the middle and upper portions of the atmosphere. Figures 1 and 2 show the mimimum brightness count composites for 1997 and 1998 respectively.
The deeper red colors in 1998 indicate that warmer layers were detected this year than in 1997. Figures 3 and 4 show the maximum brightness count composites for 1997 and 1998 respectively. There are similarities between these images. Figures 5 and 6 show the average radiance for 1997 and 1998. In both average images the warmer regions represent widespread sinking associated with the 'Hadley' cell. The pattern is different between 1997 and 1998. Figure 7 shows a larger view of this 'average' phenomena.
