CIMSS GOES Derived
Product Image of the Lifted Index CIMSS GOES Derived
Product Image of the Lifted Index
This image is an example of one of the derived products that can be generated from the GOES-8 imager or sounder data. The product displayed is the atmospheric stability parameter which estimates the tendency of a low-level parcel of air to continue to rise if it was 'lifted' to the middle of the atmosphere. The units are in degrees. For a higher resolution image, click once on the image icon, or click once here. A negative value indicates an unstable air mass, while a positive value implies a stable air mass. This image was derived from the imager data. The value is color-coded with blues being the most stable and reds being the most unstable. Clouds are represented as a gray color (see the color bar at the bottom of the image). A time sequence of the images is the best way to monitor stability trends.
The images are displayed at a reduced resolution. The full resolution is approximately 4km at the sub-satellite point, but we have sampled to reduce this by about a factor of 2.
The images are calculated using radiance measurements from the longwave split window (imager channels 4 and 5) and the water vapor channel (imager channel 3). Products from the sounder can use the additional spectral channels on that instrument.
Other derived products that can be generated are the surface skin temperature and an atmospheric total water vapor parameter.
The algorithm for Derived Product Imagery was developed by the NESDIS System Design and Applications Branch at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies and implemented in the McIDAS environment at the Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin.
