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Color Enhanced Infrared Images
color enhancement of colder temperatures
Images (a) and (b) are examples of gray scale and color enhanced
infrared satellite images respectively (valid for the same time).
(a) |
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In this infrared image (a),
the thunderstorms erupting from the Gulf of Mexico into New York
appear to be roughly the same height. |
(b) |
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Color enhancement is a procedure where specified levels of energy --
in this example, infrared energy -- are given a specific color.
this makes locations with the desired energies easier to locate.
In this example (b), shades of yellow and orange represent infrared energy
emissions consistent with strong thunderstorms.
This is because infrared energy is proportional to brightness temperature,
and the highest cloud tops are colder than those at lower altitudes
(the highest cloud tops are typically associated with the strongest
thunderstorms).
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These images have been extracted from the same data, however color
enhancement uses colors ranging from purple to red
to make certain features stand out. Such features
are not as easily observed in gray scale images.
vis -vs- ir
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water vapor (wv)
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