Regional And Mesoscale Meteorology Team
Satellite Interpretation Discussion
Tuesday August 18, 1998
Eric Hilgendorf and Louie Grasso
|
|
Regional And Mesoscale Meteorology Team Satellite Interpretation Discussion Tuesday August 18, 1998 |
|
|
It is important not to fall into the trap of assuming a one-to-one relationship between
enhancement colors and atmospheric phenomena. An example of this trap deals with the
water vapor (6.7 micron) imagery. The 6.7 micron enhancement will typically show the
warmer pixels as reds and the cooler pixels as grays. After analyzing a few days worth
of imagery, one will usually associate upper-level lows with the grays (labeled "A" in
Fig 1), and upper-level highs with the reds and oranges (labeled "B" in Fig 1). Most of
the time this method of analysis will result in the correct identification of features.
However, care should be taken not to become too comfortable with this casual technique
because there are times when the relationship between enhancement color and atmospheric
feature will not apply. The imagery presented here is one such case.
|
|
|
| |
|
The imagery is from the GOES-10, 6.7 micron channel with the common water vapor enhancement.
The feature of interest is the cyclonic circulation embedded within a very warm region in
the East Pacific (labeled C in Fig 1). The circulations (A, B, and C) are evident in the
loop. A casual analysis of the imagery based purely on enhancement color will lead to
misdiagnosing feature "C" as an upper-level high. Eric Hilgendorf and Louie Grasso |
|
We welcome your comments and discussion at
ramsdis@comet.ucar.edu |
|
| Information Contact: Carol Vaughn | |
| CIRA/RAMM WebMaster: Roger Phillips | |
| Author: Eric Hilgendorf | |
| Last Updated: August 18, 1998 |