![[SIR-CED LOGO]](../../LOGO.GIF){kind=logo}
Look in the directory called /Data/Mods1to5/Module04/Images/ColorImg. The following files should be in the directory for this lesson.
An explanation of these images and their source follows.
Shuttle2.gif (268K GIF) - Hand-held photograph taken by Space Shuttle crew member on the first flight of SIR-C in April 1994. The Furnace Creek area is just off to the left of this photo. The light colored diamond-shaped area in the center left of the photo is the Stovepipe Wells sand dune area.
DVRadar.gif (323K GIF) - SIR-C radar image of Death Valley, California collected on April 11, 1994 during the first flight of SIR-C. The image shows the Furnace Creek alluvial fan and Furnace Creek Ranch at the far right and the sand dunes at Stovepipe Wells at the center. Note that this image does not correspond completely with Shuttle2.gif -- the Furnace Creek area does not appear on Shuttle2.gif
KliuOpti.gif (217K GIF) - Hand-held photograph of Kliuchevskoi volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia. This photograph was taken on September 30, 1994, the first day of the second SIR-C mission during the early hours of the eruption. The ash plume, which reached heights of more than 18 kilometers (50,000 feet), is emerging from a vent on the north flank of Kliuchevskoi, partially hidden by the plume and its shadow in this view. This eruption produced ash, gas and dust and few (if any) new lava flows resulted. The photograph is oriented with north toward the bottom, for comparison with the radar image (Kliuche2.gif) acquired a few days later. Near the center of the photo, a small whitish steam plume may be seen emanating from the growing lava dome of a companion volcano, Bezymianny.
Kliuche2.gif (434K GIF) - In this radar image, Kliuchevskoi is the blue triangular peak in the center of the image, towards the left edge of the bright red area that delineates bare snow cover. North is toward the bottom of the image. The radar illumination is from the top of the image. The colors in this image were obtained using the following radar channels: red represents the L- band (horizontally transmitted and received); green represents the L-band (horizontally transmitted and vertically received); blue represents the C-band (horizontally transmitted and vertically received). In addition to Kliuchevskoi, two other active volcanoes are visible in the image. Bezymianny, the circular crater above and to the right of Kliuchevskoi, contains a slowly growing lava dome. Tolbachik is the large volcano with a dark summit crater near the upper right edge of the red snow covered area. The Kamchatka River runs from right to left across the bottom of the image. Melting snow mixed with volcanic ash triggered mudflows on the flanks of the volcano. Paths of these flows can be seen as thin lines in various shades of blue and green on the north flank in the center of the image.
MEverest.gif (251K GIF) - This file contains a side-by-side hand-held photograph and a radar image of Mt. Everest. The peak of Mount Everest (8,848 meters or 29,028 feet), can be seen near the center of each image. The SIR-C radar image was acquired through thick cloud cover on April 16, 1994 and the hand held photograph was taken under clear conditions on October 10, 1994. Both images show an area approximately 70 kilometers by 38 kilometers (43 miles by 24 miles); North is toward the upper left. The colors in the radar image were obtained using the following radar channels: red represents the L-band (horizontally transmitted and received); green represents the L-band (horizontally transmitted and vertically received); blue represents the C- band (horizontally transmitted and vertically received). Radar illumination is from the top of the frame. The optical photograph has been geometrically adjusted to better match the area shown in the radar image. Many features of the Himalayan terrain are visible in both images. Snow covered areas appear white in the optical photograph while the same areas appear bright blue in the radar image. The radar image, taken in early spring shows deep snow cover; the optical photograph, taken in late summer shows minimum snow cover. The curving and branching features seen in both images are glaciers. The two wavelengths and multiple polarizations of the SIR-C radar are sensitive to characteristics of the glacier surfaces that are not detected by conventional photography, such as the ice roughness, water content and stratification. For this reason, the glaciers show a variety of colors in the radar image (blue, purple, red, yellow, white) but only appear as gray or white in the photograph.
| Teacher's Guide - Table of Contents |
Converted to the IBM-PC by Al Wong, sirced03@southport.jpl.nasa.gov
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
