Cirrus, land - sea contrasts

June 24, 1999 16:28 UTC

A cirrus strip crosses the area from North-West to south-east. They are thin clouds with a small reflectivity in visible. They dont appear clearly (1) on the visible image. They appear much brighter (2) in infrared because, made of ice, they are very cold. The sea (3) is brighter than the land (4) on the infrared image because, in this end of afternoon, it is colder. The sea (5) is darker than the land (6) on the visible image, because it absorbs more the solar radiation.