Student Pages - Lesson 5 - Activity 6: Weather Satellites, Satellite Images, and Doppler Radar
Weather satellites orbit the earth and collect and relay weather information to receivers that are based on Earth. There are two different types of weather satellites that we will discuss here: Polar orbiting satellites and Geostationary satellites.
Polar orbiting satellites circle the earth from North to South but do not go over the poles. They provide satellite images of the Earth 4 times per day.
Geostationary satellites provide a continuous view of a specific spot on earth. They orbit the earth at the equator and travel at the same speed as the Earth's rotation thus completing one orbit every 24 hours.
Weather data that is collected by the satellites that orbit the Earth is sent to one of several computers on Earth and that data is then transferred into satellite images that you see on television when you watch the weather.
In activity 6, you will add satellite data to your weather map.
1. Use the internet to view satellite images taken over the 13 weather stations listed previously.
http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_vis_us.html
- Place a C on your weather map for the stations that are cloudy (white areas on the satellite image) and use an S for stations that are not covered with clouds (dark areas of the satellite image).
- Put a blue H over stations that are experiencing fair weather and a red L over stations that are areas of possible unstable weather. Use this link to verify you have the Hs and Ls in the correct places. http://weather.unisys.com/surface/sfc_map_inv.html
- Look for counterclockwise cloud circulation near the low pressure areas.
2. Discuss your results with your group. Be prepared to share your report with the class.
3. Use the internet to search for radar images that are used to plot adverse weather. Watch as the echoes that are bounced back cause the radar image to change. Here are two example sites. Use the second link to view radar images for the 13 weather stations listed in your activities. Once you have clicked on the map to locate the cities, click on the "short range loop" under base reflectivity on the left side of the page to put the radar in motion. See if you can locate any rotation in the images.
4. Discuss your results with your group. Record your findings in your journal.
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