high resolution image
Sharp air mass boundaries, such as this one photographed by astronauts on boardthe Space Shuttle on June 17 2002, often are the focus of development for severethunderstorms. This storm formed in the late afternoon over Eastern China. Thesunlit anvil tops of thunderstorms here are estimated to be in excess of 60,000feet (18,300 m) where icy cirrus clouds form near the top of the troposphere.The distribution and impact of such high clouds are a significant challenge toscientists modeling the Earth’s energy budget and climate.
The crew of the International Space Station is attempting to acquire suchimagery over Florida this summer in support of a large, multi-agency experimentCRYSTAL - FACE (Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers -Florida Area Cirrus Experiment). This experiment is designed to collectmeasurements of clouds that will help improve climate models. Such photos havethe potential to provide profound, synoptic visuals for use in describing andinterpreting these measurements. More information on CRYSTAL ? FACE as well asother images of the atmosphere are available athttp://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/crystalface/
References & Resources
Astronaut photograph STS111-E-05451 was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
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