A
The brightness of an object depends on these two factors.
sun angle and albedo
Often used with respect to satellite image data, this term usually refers to the size of the footprints, or pixels, that form an image.
Resolution
A one-way broadcast capability supporting timely delivery of unclassified and classified video, large quantities of unclassified or classified digital data and other theater information transfer need for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its deployed and garrisoned units worldwide.
GBS: Global Broadcast Service
This cloud type is typically found in large sheets associated with anticyclonic flow in the stable area of the subtropical high over oceanic regions.
Closed Cells
This occurs in VIS imagery and is caused by the reflection of the sun’s rays directly off a water surface into the satellite sensor.
Sunglint
A mainstay of weather forecasting in the US and the backbone of short-term forecasting. This satellite gathers real-time weather data.
GOES: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
These waves initiate tropical cyclogenesis in both the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans.
African easterly waves
When analyzing wind, this can be estimated on a satellite image by looking for sharp edges vs. diffused edges on clouds.
Direction and Speed
This front is normally located along the southern edge of the cloud band that typically extends more east to west.
Stationary Fronts
The three kinds of resolution.
spectral, radiometric and temporal
The orbit where a satellite’s orbital plane maintains a near constant angle with the sun, allowing it to pass over the same spot on earth about the same time everyday.
Sun Synchronous
This front is very similar to a cold front cloud band but shows a distinct double structure with cold (high) tops at the leading and warm (low) tops to the rear.
Split Front
This can be associated with convective activity however this is not always the case. Long thin clouds that extend away from the storm center that are typically perpendicular to the storm center.
Transverse Banding
The European satellite counterpart to the GOES positioned over the US. These satellites provide continuous cover for most of the world with the exception being the north and south Polar Regions.
METEOSAT
Also know as the decaying wave stage, this is when the surface low begins to fill and becomes somewhat difficult to identify on satellite imagery.
Dissipation Stage
This aspect of cloud structure is more prominent on a visible satellite shot it will show ridges along the tops of the clouds which can be used to determine convective activity.
Texture
This flow pattern is composed of a series of aligned individual cloud “elements” that are not interconnected. Cumuliform clouds will organize into lines parallel to the low‐level wind direction, may be curved or form in straight lines, and are usually evenly spaced.
Cloud Streets
This is a V-shaped region over and downwind from strong to severe thunderstorms on infrared imagery.
Enhanced V (Severe Storm Signature)
Cloud fingers that are less than one degree latitude in width, which develop as a result of low‐level convergence. These are found in the warm sector ahead of a cold front.
Cloud Bands
Uses thermal waves to ingest temperatures for set areas such as oceans and ice.
SSMI: Special Sensor Microwave Imager
A method that uses enhanced Infrared and/or visible satellite imagery to quantitatively estimate the intensity of a tropical system.
The Dvorak technique
In Vis imagery, enhanced cumulus appear similar to towering cumulus or small CB clouds while the elements comprising the feature will form into a comma shape indicating this upper level dynamic feature in the mid-levels of the atmosphere.
Vorticity Lobes
This measures reflected microwave signals from ocean waves. This data is then used to estimate low-level wind speed and direction over data sparse ocean areas.
scatterometer
Typical indication of this type of flow cyclogenesis is a double jet flowing towards the southeast and an existing baroclinic zone east of the trough axis.
Split-flow
This type of cyclogenesis is commonly seen when a wave develops along an existing cold frontal boundary.
Induced