Aircraft dissipation trail in Iowa
* GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational and are undergoing testing *
Can you find the plane near Des Moines? #contrail #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/H6kQQzrlc6
— NWS Des Moines (@NWSDesMoines) July 28, 2017
An aircraft “dissipation trail” formed over far southern Iowa during the late morning hours on 28 July 2017 — which was seen on GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9) µm) imagery (below).
GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, tpo), Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm, middle) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9) µm, bottom) images [click to play animation]
Therefore, the glaciated aircraft dissipation trail appears darker on the 1.61 µm “snow/ice” images (since ice is a strong absorber of radiation at that wavelength), and colder (brighter white) on the 3.9 µm shortwave infrared images.