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Ice in the Sea of Okhotsk

By Scott Bachmeier •

Himawari-8

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

JMA Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) revealed circulations of ice within the Sea of Okhotsk (east of Sakhalin Island — station identifier UHSS is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia) on 17-18 April 2019. Wind stress from an occluded Gale Force Low moving through that region on the previous day (surface analyses) likely helped to enhance some of the ice circulations.

In a comparison of Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images (below), note that the ice appears much darker than cloud features (since ice is a strong absorber of radiation at the 1.61 µm wavelength).

Himawari-8 "Red" Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Near-Infrared "Snow/Ice" (1.61 µm, right) images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm, right) images [click to play animation | MP4]

Thanks to Thomas Birchard (NWS Honolulu) for bringing this interesting feature to our attention!

Categories: Himawari-8