Description:

The Air Mass RGB is designed and tuned for monitoring the evolution of cyclones, in particular, rapid cyclogenesis, jet streaks, and potential vorticity (PV) anomalies. Since the product relies heavily on infrared channels in the water vapor and ozone absorption regions of the spectrum, it provides information primarily about the middle and upper levels of the troposphere, not so much the lower levels and near-surface conditions.

Current imagers with the spectral channels needed to produce the Air Mass RGB include Meteosat SEVIRI and Terra and Aqua MODIS.  The future GOES-R ABI and Advanced Himawai Imager (AHI) will also have the required WV and IR channels to produce an Air Mass RGB that is nearly identical to today’s Meteosat product, but at a higher spatial and temporal resolution.

Coverage: Day and nighttime

Channels:

• Polar-orbiting satellites:
  • MODIS:
    Red: 6.715 µm WV – 7.325 µm WV BT difference
    Green: 9.73 µm IR – 11.03 µm IR BT diffierence
    Blue: 6.715 µm WV BT
• Geostationary satellites:
  • MSG SEVIRI and future MTG FCI:
    Red: 6.2 µm WV – 7.3 µm WV BT difference
    Green: 9.7 µm IR – 10.8 µm IR BT diffierence
    Blue: 6.2 µm WV BT
  • Future GOES-R ABI and Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI):
    Red: 6.19 µm WV – 7.34 µm WV BT difference
    Green: 9.61 µm IR – 10.35 µm IR BT diffierence
    Blue: 6.19 µm WV BT

Color scheme:

• Ozone-poor tropical air masses are green
• Ozone-rich polar air masses are blue
• Dry air masses in the upper troposphere (such as those related to sub-tropical high pressure systems, PV anomalies, jet streaks, and deformation zones) are red to orange
• High-level clouds are white
• Mid-level clouds are brown
• Magenta often appears at the edge of the full disk (due to limb darkening/cooling effect) and should be disregarded

Advantages:

• Can see important boundaries between air masses, such as tropical and polar, at a glance; these are often invisible on single channel images
• Helps detect the position of jet streams and areas of dry, descending stratospheric air with high PV; these appear in red
• Can detect features commonly seen in water vapor images, such as deformation zones, wave features, and PV anomalies
• The infrared channels make it possible to monitor cloud development at low, middle, and high altitudes

Limitations:

• Air masses are only detectable in areas free of high cloud cover
• Tends to depict conditions in the middle and upper troposphere, but not at the surface
• At the edge of the Earth’s disk, air masses can have a magenta color but this does not represent true air mass characteristics, rather limb darkening/cooling due to the large satellite viewing angles

Live data links:

• EUMETSAT Available Near-Real-time Products page, http://oiswww.eumetsat.org/IPPS/html/MSG/RGB/
• EUMeTrain, a site providing daily and archived satellite imagery, model output, case studies, and training resources, covering Europe, Middle East, Africa, and North Polar Regions, http://eumetrain.org
• CIRA/RAMMB GOES-R Proving Ground Real-time Products; provides access to the GOES sounder-based Air Mass Product (found under the heading GOES Sounder-Based Products), http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/goes-r_proving_ground.asp

More information:

• Applications of MSG Airmass RGB PPT, http://oiswww.eumetsat.org/WEBOPS/msg_interpretation/PowerPoints/Application/00_airmass_rgb_20050725.ppt
• Applications of MSG: Early Detection of Rapid Cyclogenesis, a Case Study http://oiswww.eumetsat.org/WEBOPS/msg_interpretation/PowerPoints/Application/00_racy_casestudy_20050721.ppt
• CIRA/RAMMB Sounder-Based Red-Blue-Green (RGB) Air Mass Product; a Web page providing product information, examples and interpretation, advantages and limitations, http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/research/goes-r/proving_ground/cira_product_list/goes_sounder-based_rgb_air_mass_product.asp
• The COMET module “Recognition and Impact of Vorticity Maxima and Minima in Satellite Imagery”, http://www.meted.ucar.edu/EUMETSAT/vorticity/