Day-time Reflectivity (1 of 2)
An image product that approximates reflected energy at 3.9 um shows
exceptional promise for a number of applications. This so-called "reflected
product" is derived by equating the 10.7 um channel brightness temperature to a
corresponding radiance value at 3.9 um, for each pixel within an image. That
radiance value is then subtracted from the actual 3.9 um radiance, resulting in an
approximate reflected radiance at 3.9 um. The 3.9 um "reflected product" shows
water clouds as bright white, and poorly reflective ice clouds and snow as dark
grey shades. These images show that clouds are not easily distinguished from snow
cover when only the VIS channel is viewed; however, the addition of information
from the 3.9 and the 10.7 um channels, along with the 3.9 um "reflected product",
aid greatly in discriminating between snow cover, clear ground, ice cloud and
water cloud.
NOTE: This product's utility for night-time cloud discrimination is also under
investigation.
Continue or go back to the
Image Applications summary page.
