Assignment

1 side 1 page Double Space (about 300 words)

Topic - Satellite Photographs of Clouds Report Writing Guidelines

You can earn up to 6 pts for report content and up to 4 pts for writing quality.

Content

Here are some of the ideas that you might want to address in your report. Satellites are able to detect both visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) light coming from clouds. What is the source of the VIS and IR light?

IR satellite photographs are probably more commonly seen. Why is that, what advantage do they have? What determines whether a cloud will appear white or grey on both types of satellite photographs? It might be difficult to distinguish between cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds on an IR photograph, between low level stratus and cumulonimbus clouds on a visible photograph. How could you use both IR and VIS photographs to distinguish between these very different types of clouds.

It is possible to see the ground on both VIS and IR photographs when there are no clouds over a particular region. The ground changes from dark to light gray during the day on IR photographs. Why is this? Why doesn't the nearby ocean also change in the same way during the day?

Writing Quality

Explain the material in your own words - your report should be your understanding and explanation of the material. Try to include specific details and examples from the reading section. The separate parts of your paper should blend together into one seamless coherent report. Your report should be nearly free of misspelled words and grammatical errors.

This is supposed to be an opportunity to quickly and easily earn a few 1S1P points. You only need to read the reference material that was assigned. Include citations if you do decide to read any other sources.