![\"GOES-13](\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2013\/04\/130413_g13_vis_swir_ship_tracks_anim.gif\" "\\"GOES-13")
<\/a>GOES-13 Visible (0.63 \u00b5m, left)<\/em> and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 \u00b5m, right)<\/em> images [click to play animation]<\/p><\/div>A comparison of McIDAS images of 1-km resolution GOES-13 (GOES-East)<\/em> Visible (0.63 \u00b5m) and 4-km resolution Shortwave Infrared (3.9 \u00b5m) data (above)<\/strong><\/em> revealed a number of ship tracks in the marine boundary layer stratocumulus cloud deck over the western Atlantic Ocean on 13 April 2013<\/strong><\/a>. Aerosols from the exhaust of ships causes a “cloud seeding effect”, which results in a higher concentration of smaller<\/em> cloud droplets compared to the surrounding undisturbed cloud deck. These smaller cloud droplets are more effective reflectors of sunlight, resulting in a warmer (darker gray)<\/em> signature on the 3.9 \u00b5m imagery.<\/p>\n A more detailed view of the ship tracks was provided using AWIPS images of 1-km resolution MODIS Visible (0.65 \u00b5m), Shortwave Infrared (3.7 \u00b5m) and Infrared Window (11.0 \u00b5m) images (below)<\/strong><\/em>. Note that the ship track features could not be identified on the 11.0 \u00b5m image, since the cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures were essentially the same over that region.<\/p>\n