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Example of MISR Level 2TC data product
Hurricane Debby
The MISR team has developed new methods for retrieving information about clouds,
airborne particles, and surface properties that capitalize on the instrument's
unique, multi-angle imaging approach. This illustration , based upon results
contained in products publicly released at the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center
(ASDC), highlights some of these new capabilities. The ASDC, located at NASA's
Langley Research Center, is the primary processing and archive center for MISR
data (http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov).
On August 21, 2000, during Terra orbit 3600, MISR imaged Hurricane Debby in
the Atlantic Ocean. The first panel on the left is the MISR downward- looking
(nadir) view of the storm's eastern edge. The next two panels show the results
of a new approach that uses MISR's stereoscopic observations to retrieve cloud
heights and winds. In the middle panel of this set, gradations from low to high
cloud are depicted in shades ranging from blue to red. Since it takes seven
minutes for all nine MISR cameras to view any location on Earth, and the clouds
moved during this time, the data also contain information about wind speed and
direction. Derived wind vectors, shown in the third panel, reveal Hurricane
Debby's cyclonic motion. The highest wind speed measured is nearly 100 kilometers/hour.
MISR obtains this type of information on a global basis, which will help scientists
study the relationship between climate change and the three-dimensional characteristics
of clouds. The second and third panels are part of MISR's Level 2 top-of-atmosphere/cloud
data product.
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team. Catalog No. PIA02629
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