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December 7, 2022 - Open- and Closed-Cell Clouds off the West Coast of North America
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For many people, cloud-watching is a frequent pastime that is best enjoyed by lying back to look upwards at the fluffy shapes as they pass overhead. Clouds are also fascinating to view from space, where patterns can be seen forming across hundreds of miles at a time.
On December 5, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a large bank of open- and close-cell clouds over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America. The cloud formation stretches over an area of at least 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles) off the coasts of British Columbia (south) and Alaska.
Large banks of marine stratocumulus clouds frequently form in stable air off the western shores of large landmasses and often include both open-cell and closed-cell clouds. The basic structure the clouds are built on are hexagonal “cells” that resemble compartments in a honeycomb. Open-cell clouds look like empty cells, with just the hexagonal structure visible. Closed-cell clouds have their compartments stuffed with fluffy-looking white cloud. The presence of open- or closed-cell stratocumulus clouds offer clues about the distribution of precipitation. Uninterrupted decks of closed-cell clouds generally produce little to no rain, whereas open cells open up as rain begins to fall.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 12/5/2022
Resolutions:
1km (1.8 MB), 500m (6 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
For many people, cloud-watching is a frequent pastime that is best enjoyed by lying back to look upwards at the fluffy shapes as they pass overhead. Clouds are also fascinating to view from space, where patterns can be seen forming across hundreds of miles at a time.
On December 5, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a large bank of open- and close-cell clouds over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America. The cloud formation stretches over an area of at least 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles) off the coasts of British Columbia (south) and Alaska.
Large banks of marine stratocumulus clouds frequently form in stable air off the western shores of large landmasses and often include both open-cell and closed-cell clouds. The basic structure the clouds are built on are hexagonal “cells” that resemble compartments in a honeycomb. Open-cell clouds look like empty cells, with just the hexagonal structure visible. Closed-cell clouds have their compartments stuffed with fluffy-looking white cloud. The presence of open- or closed-cell stratocumulus clouds offer clues about the distribution of precipitation. Uninterrupted decks of closed-cell clouds generally produce little to no rain, whereas open cells open up as rain begins to fall.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 12/5/2022
Resolutions:
1km (1.8 MB), 500m (6 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
