Cirrus, land - sea contrasts

June 24, 1999 16:28 UTC

A cirrus strip crosses the area from North-West to South-East. These thin clouds can barely be seen (1) on the visible image. They appear much more clearly (2) in infrared, because since these clouds are made of ice, they are very cold. The sea (3) appears more clearly than the land (4) on the infrared image, because at the end of this afternoon, it is colder. The sea (5) is darker than the land (6) on the visible image, because it absorbs more solar radiation.