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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Hurricane Isabel
Title
Hurricane Isabel
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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Figure 1: AIRS infrared channel 2333 (2616 cm-1)
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Figure 1: AIRS infrared channel 2333 (2616 cm-1)
Original Caption Released with Image
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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Figure 2: Total Water Vapor retrieved from AIRS infrared and AMSU-A microwave data
September 18, 2003
These two false-color images show Hurricane Isabel viewed by the AIRS and AMSU-A instruments at 1:30 EDT in the morning of Thursday September 18, 2003. Isabel will be ashore within 12 hours, bringing widespread flooding and destructive winds. In figure 1 on the left, data retrieved by the AIRS infrared sensor shows the hurricane's eye as the small ring of pale blue near the upper left corner of the image. The dark blue band around the eye shows the cold tops of hundreds of powerful thunderstorms. These storms are embedded in the 120 mile per hour winds swirling counterclockwise around Isabel's eye. Cape Hatteras is the finger of land north-northwest of the eye. Isabel's winds will soon push ashore a 4- to 8-foot high mound of 'storm surge' and accompanying high surf, leading to flooding of Cape Hatteras and other islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Also seen in the image are several organized bands of cold, (blue) thunderstorm tops being pulled into the storm center. Other thunderstorm are forming north of the islands of Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico near the bottom of the picture.
Figure 2 shows the geographical distribution and total amount of atmospheric water vapor associated with Isabel as inferred by AIRS and AMSU-A. Very humid areas appear deep red and surround the storm's eye in the ring of thunderstorms, as seen above. The enhancement of atmospheric water vapor in the storm is maintained by evaporation from the wind-churned sea surface. In turn, the water vapor powers the thunderstorms by condensing as rain and releasing the ocean's warmth into the atmosphere to drive strong convection. This makes Isabel and other hurricanes 'heat engines,' converting ocean water's warmth into atmospheric gales. Isabel is weakening as it move ashore and loses its supply of energy from warm water, but not before raining an expected 6-12 inch thick layer of its water over an area extending from South Carolina and New England to the midwest and southern Canada. Paler blue areas in the water vapor image show less humid heights of the atmosphere, which are associated with the colder thunderstorm tops seen in the infrared image.
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.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Figure 2: Total Water Vapor retrieved from AIRS infrared and AMSU-A microwave data
September 18, 2003
These two false-color images show Hurricane Isabel viewed by the AIRS and AMSU-A instruments at 1:30 EDT in the morning of Thursday September 18, 2003. Isabel will be ashore within 12 hours, bringing widespread flooding and destructive winds. In figure 1 on the left, data retrieved by the AIRS infrared sensor shows the hurricane's eye as the small ring of pale blue near the upper left corner of the image. The dark blue band around the eye shows the cold tops of hundreds of powerful thunderstorms. These storms are embedded in the 120 mile per hour winds swirling counterclockwise around Isabel's eye. Cape Hatteras is the finger of land north-northwest of the eye. Isabel's winds will soon push ashore a 4- to 8-foot high mound of 'storm surge' and accompanying high surf, leading to flooding of Cape Hatteras and other islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Also seen in the image are several organized bands of cold, (blue) thunderstorm tops being pulled into the storm center. Other thunderstorm are forming north of the islands of Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico near the bottom of the picture.
Figure 2 shows the geographical distribution and total amount of atmospheric water vapor associated with Isabel as inferred by AIRS and AMSU-A. Very humid areas appear deep red and surround the storm's eye in the ring of thunderstorms, as seen above. The enhancement of atmospheric water vapor in the storm is maintained by evaporation from the wind-churned sea surface. In turn, the water vapor powers the thunderstorms by condensing as rain and releasing the ocean's warmth into the atmosphere to drive strong convection. This makes Isabel and other hurricanes 'heat engines,' converting ocean water's warmth into atmospheric gales. Isabel is weakening as it move ashore and loses its supply of energy from warm water, but not before raining an expected 6-12 inch thick layer of its water over an area extending from South Carolina and New England to the midwest and southern Canada. Paler blue areas in the water vapor image show less humid heights of the atmosphere, which are associated with the colder thunderstorm tops seen in the infrared image.
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.
Original Caption Released with Image
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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JPL
Produced_By
JPL
Produced By
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Mission:
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Earth Observing System (EOS)
Mission
Earth Observing System (EOS)
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Aqua
Spacecraft
Aqua
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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Earth
Target_Name
Earth
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
Instrument
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
Instrument
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Product Size:
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489 samples x 471 lines
Product_Size
489 samples x 471 lines
Product Size
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Earth Observing System
facet_what
Earth Observing System
facet_what
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facet_what:
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EOS
facet_what
EOS
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Aqua
facet_what
Aqua
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
facet_what
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
facet_what
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facet_what:
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AIRS
facet_what
AIRS
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
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facet_where:
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California
facet_where
California
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Puerto Rico
facet_where
Puerto Rico
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Canada
facet_where
Canada
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Cuba
facet_where
Cuba
facet_where
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facet_where:
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South Carolina
facet_where
South Carolina
facet_where
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facet_where:
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North Carolina
facet_where
North Carolina
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jamaica
facet_where
Jamaica
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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September 18, 2003
facet_when
September 18, 2003
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2003
facet_when_year
2003
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA00428
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA00428
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA00428
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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