CIMSS Satellite Blog

GOES-16 Split Window Difference (10.33 µm – 12.30 µm) with 850-mb Dewpoint Temperatures from the Rapid Refresh overlain (Click to enlarge)

GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing.

GOES-16 includes both a clean window (10.33 µm) and a so-called ‘dirty’ window channel (12.30 µm). The clean window is in a part of the electromagnetic spectrum where there is very little absorption of energy by water vapor; in the dirty window, modest amounts of water vapor absorption occur. The brightness temperature difference, nicknames the Split Window Difference (SWD for short), can highlight differences in moisture in clear skies.

The toggle above shows the SWD (10.33 µm – 12.30 µm) at 1430 UTC on 7 April 2017. A pronounced gradient stretches southeast to northwest from Louisiana to northeast Kansas and extreme southeastern Nebraska.  Values over Missouri, for example, are around 0.9-1.0 K vs. 1.7-2.2 K over Oklahoma.  The gradient in the brightness temperature difference aligns very neatly with the 850-mb dewpoint temperature from the Rapid Refresh. You can use this product to monitor moisture return from the Gulf of Mexico.

AWIPS Note: The Default enhancement in AWIPS for the Split Window Difference, shown above, does not include large enough negative values. The Split Window Difference value can exceed -5 K in regions of dust. See this link for a different enhancement for this case with a wider range of temperatures.

from CIMSS Satellite Blog http://ift.tt/2p9Nyi2