February 14, 2022 - Snow and Cloud around Lake Superior

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Clouds over Lake Superior, Lake Nipigon
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On February 3, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a stunning and unusual
false-color image of a frigid winter scene across southern Ontario,
Canada, and the northern United States, complete with dramatic clouds
streaming across Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan.

In this type of false-color image, data from MODIS bands 3,6,7 is
combined to help distinguish snow, ice, and clouds. Ice reflects more
blue light than snow or ice clouds. Ice—on the ground or over frozen
lakes—will be bright reddish-orange, while snow is orange, and clouds
range from white to dark peach. Frozen Lake Nipigon, which sits just
northeast of the shores of Lake Superior in Ontario, Canada, appears
radically different than the clouds over the lakes. The Lake’s bright
color also stands out from the duller color of snow in the surrounding
landscape—even though ice, snow, and cloud all appear white in reality
(and in true-color satellite images). In the lower right (southeast)
corner of the image, a swath of peach marks a different type of cloud
than the bright white clouds that stream over the lakes. The peach
color reveals ice crystals in these high, cold clouds. In contrast, the
cloud streets found over the lakes are lower and warmer. With no ice
present, they appear white.

The MODIS instrument collects data using 36 spectral bands, so
scientists can make many combinations to help study the Earth. The most
commonly published image is true-color, which uses bands 4,3,1 and
gives a view very much like we could see with our own eyes if we were
in space.

The NASA Worldview App makes it easy to see different band
combinations. To view a comparison between this false-color image and
the true-color image acquired at the same time, click here.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 2/3/2022
Resolutions: 1km (1.2 MB), 500m (3.2 MB), 250m (2.2 MB)
Bands Used: 3,6,7
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-02-14

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