The 19 channels of viewing of the GOES-8 weather satellite. This image, from 0146 UTC on April 7, 1998 depicts the state of atmospheric radiation over North America (see map at top left). The channels decrease in wavelength from Channel 1 (14.7 micron) to Channel 19 (0.7 micron), the only visible channel. Red areas indicate regions of high infrared radiation emission; blue indicates regions of lower infrared emission; and black indicates zero visible radiation emission or reflection. Below is a link to all 19 GOES-8 sounder channels over the eastern U.S.:
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 | The visible channel (Channel 19) -- although in color -- does easily provide the
night-day flag.
| Channels 1 and 2 show thermal gradient reversal at the
tropopause.
| Only the highest clouds are evident in Channel 3; more cloud
appears as one goes to the lower sensing channels (4,5,6...).
| Channels 3, 12, and
15 are all seen at about the same "altitude" (similar color range) but in
different spectral regions (or "absorption bands"): Longwave CO2, Midwave
H2O, Shortwave CO2.
| Relative transparency is evident across (window)
Channels 6, 7, 8, 17, and 18.
| Channel 9 (ozone) is similar but different from
Channel 10. Channel 12 looks much cleaner than "sibling" Channels 3 and 15; Channel 11 is even
sharper looking.
| Over a long enough period (2 days), the large scale
deep tropospheric thermal pattern (the "ridging" evident in Channels 3-5) can be
seen to be slowing moving eastward.
| |
Thanks to Tim Schmidt, Gary Wade, Scott Bacheier and the CIMSS GOES Gallery