STS-099 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Debriefing with Crewmembers
March 7, 2000

ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC PHENOMENA
Click here to view the complete online collection of astronaut photography of Earth >>

View larger image for STS099-724-61
STS099-724-61
Po River smog.
View larger image for STS099-724-66
STS099-724-66
Po River smog over the Adriatic.
View larger image for STS099-703-7
STS099-703-7
Wake Cloud Pattern - A distinct cumulus cloud pattern marks the an island wake within a weak northerly wind field in the vicinity of Isla Socorro, south of the Baja Peninsula of Mexico.
View larger image for STS099-715-29
STS099-715-29
Contrail - A long contrail crosses the north coast of the Sea of Okhotsk just east of Magadan as it appears to arc gradually northeastward on what would be a great circle route to North America from Japan.
View larger image for STS099-723-62
STS099-723-62
Southern Hemisphere Cyclone - This non-tropical system with its clockwise rotation is located in the southeastern Pacific east of New Zealand. The band of cumulus near the occluded front associated with this system is well to the north and east of the center. It is still late summer and this is not a particularly vigorous system, having little convection or high clouds.
View larger image for STS099-727-57
STS099-727-57
Southern Hemisphere Cyclone II- Same system as STS099-732-062, but 24 hours later. Little change as occurred.
View larger image for STS099-723-81
STS099-723-81
Edge of a Winter Storm - The pronounced edge of a developing winter storm is poised just south and west of the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland. Warm moist air as it wraps around the north side of the storm center is overriding the frigid, dry air at the surface.
View larger image for STS099-732-69
STS099-732-69
Cut-Off Low - A swirl of stratocumulus clouds west-southwest of the Straits of Gibraltar is all that remains of a North Atlantic cyclone which has been cut-off from the westerlies. Often observed off the west coast of continents in winter, these systems either slowly dissipate or provide and extra shot of energy and moisture to a subsequent cyclone, if it passes close enough.
View larger image for STS099-734-35
STS099-734-35
Cloud Streets of Warm Air Advection - Building bands of cumulus clouds indicate warm air advection as they progress to the northwest over the Houston-Galveston Bay area. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico is borne on southeasterly winds over the sun-warmed land areas. The heated air at the surface combines with the steady flow to produce parallel corridors of rising air, marked by cumulus, and subsiding air as clear. Note the lack of significant clouds over the cooler water surfaces and how the cumulus increase in size and height as they continue to acquire heat from the land surfaces.
View larger image for STS099-741-39
STS099-741-39
Cloud Streets of Cold Air Advection - A bitterly cold blast of arctic air plunges southward from far eastern Siberia, across the frozen Gulf of Anadyr, and out over the cold, but relatively warm Bering Sea where streets of stratocumulus form and spread. Again, parallel bands of clouds indicate advection of air and heating from below.
< Previous 1 2 Next >
This server is scheduled to be off starting the evening of Thursday October 10 and ending the morning of Tuesday October 15 to accommodate a scheduled power outage.