How does the thickness of a cloud change the way it looks from the satellite? This image is in the infrared part of the spectrum, and the radiant energy is a function of not just temperature, as was the case in the previous IR example, but also on cloud thickness. The thicker the cloud, the more water it contains. Liquid and solid water is a good emitter of infrared radiation.
Questions to consider:
 | What happens to the image when you make the cloud thinner? |
| What happens to the image when you make the cloud thicker? |
| What happens to the image when you decrease the ground temperature? |
| What happens to the brightness of the cloud when you change the ground temperature? Why? |
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The vertical scale changes the cloud thickness. You can modify the surface temperature with the horizontal sliding scale.