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| Figure 1 | Figure 2 |
This is an infrared image of Typhoon Saomai from the
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on August
10, 2006. This AIRS image shows the temperature of the cloud tops or the
surface of the Earth in cloud-free regions. The lowest temperatures (in
purple) are associated with high, cold cloud tops that make up the top of
the typhoon. The infrared signal does not penetrate through clouds. Where
there are no clouds the AIRS instrument reads the infrared signal from
the surface of the Earth, revealing warmer temperatures (red).
Figure 1 is created from microwave radiation emitted
by Earth's atmosphere and received by the instrument. It shows where the
heaviest rainfall is taking place (in blue) in the storm. Blue areas
outside of the storm where there are either some clouds or no clouds,
indicate where the sea surface shines through.
In figure 3, Typhoon Saomai is captured by the visible light/near-infrared
sensor on the AIRS instrument.
At the time the data were taken from which these images were made, the
Typhoon Saomai was nearly on-shore in China with winds of 130mph, and the
storm has a well developed eye.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared,
and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's
weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous
observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence
of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions
of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric
temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse
gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder
Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL
is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
