GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above) showed a number of ship condensation trails (or “ship tracks”) over the East Pacific Ocean on 24 April 2019. Aerosols from the exhaust of ships cause a “cloud seeding effect”, which results in a higher concentration of smaller cloud droplets compared to the surrounding unperturbed clouds. These smaller cloud droplets are more effective reflectors of sunlight, leading to a warmer (darker red) 3.9 µm signature.

GOES-17 Visible images (below) revealed a few eddy circulations within the marine boundary layer stratocumulus off the coast of southern California, along with other interesting Channel Island cloud interactions — some of the eddy circulations exhibited a small cloud-free center. Surface winds were light and variable over the Channel Islands (surface analyses), with a thermal low situated well inland over the Desert Southwest (the national high temperature on 24 April was 106ºF at Death Valley, California).

Stereoscopic views of Visible Imagery (from GOES-16 and GOES-17, above) allow for visualization of three dimensions, as shown in the mp4 animation above (click here for an animated gif of the same scene). The imagery captures multiple cloud layers over the western United States (a map will show up in the animation) as a potent system moved eastward.

GOES-R includes four channels in the near-visible including the Cirrus Channel at 1.37 µm. The Cirrus Channel is useful here because the water vapor absorption of 1.37 µm energy means that any near-surface signal is absorbed, so mostly high-level clouds are present (low clouds become visible in the cirrus channel in very dry atmospheres). The animation below (the animated gif is here) is a stereoscopic view created with 1.37 µm imagery and the structure of the high clouds is more apparent.

GOES-17 images shown here are preliminary and non-operational

When GOES-17 was in the test position at 89.5 degrees W Longitude, GOES-16 and GOES-17 in satellite projections could be used to create stereoscopic imagery (example 1; example 2; example 3); the human brain could correct for any projection differences to create 3-dimensional imagery (as explained here, for example). Because GOES-17 is now in its operational position at 137.2 degrees W Longitude, the perspective differences are too great. However, a simple remap of the imagery to the same native projection (Mercator in this case) allows for the construction of animations that show three dimensions, as shown above for the storm making landfall over southern California on 14 January 2019. The coastlines of Washington and Oregon are apparent in the imagery, as is Baja California. Multiple cloud layers become apparent in the imagery.