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Solar reflection off water and ice in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea north of Alaska

By Scott Bachmeier •

10-minute GOES-18 Infrared Window images (top), Shortwave Infrared images (middle) and Visible images (bottom), from 0820-0950 UTC on 08 July

10-minute Full Disk scan GOES-18 (GOES-West) images (above) showed notable signatures of the strong reflection of solar radiation off either open water or mixed water/ice across the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea north of Alaska on 08 July 2026.

Cursor samples near the center of strong reflection at 0900 UTC and 0910 UTC (below) revealed shortwave infrared brightness temperatures of 137.88 C — which is the saturation temperature of GOES-18 ABI Band 07 detectors. Even the Infrared Window brightness temperatures were as warm as 68.18 C.

GOES-18 Infrared Window mages (top), Shortwave Infrared images (middle) and Visible images (bottom) at 0900 UTC and 0910 UTC on 08 July, with cursor samples near the center of the solar reflectance signatures

Looking at a 16-panel display of all GOES-18 ABI spectral bands (below), it could be seen that bright reflectance signatures were evident in all Visible and Near-Infrared bands (01-06, including the Cirrus band 04) and warm (dark) thermal signatures were apparent in Infrared bands 07 and 11-15.

16-panel display of all ABI spectral bands on GOES-18, from 0820-0950 UTC on 08 July

Categories: Arctic, General interpretation, GOES-18