Question

Bright white shadings on infrared images indicate cloud tops that have relatively ________ temperatures

Answer 1

Infrared is created by detecting the produced radiation coming off of clouds. The temperature of the cloud will define the wavelength of radiation produced from the cloud. The benefit of the infrared imagery is that can be used day and night to conclude the temperature of the cloud tops and earth surface structures and to get the general idea of how clouds are. Based on the general guidelines to define cloud features, if the cloud is bright white on infrared then it is a high cloud or has a cloud top that is developed high into the troposphere. In this way infrared images actually display patterns of temperature on a gray scale such that at one extreme dark gray is warm and at the other extreme bright white is cold. A color scale is used to portray temperature and some improved infrared images show two or more gray scale sequences. High cold clouds are brighter white than low warm clouds.