June 7, 2023 - Open- and Closed-Cell Clouds over the Pacific Ocean

Open and Closed-Cell clouds in the Pacific Ocean
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On June 6, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a large
swath of beautifully patterned marine stratocumulus clouds over the
Pacific Ocean.

Marine stratocumulus clouds frequently form over water, especially off
the western coast of both North and South America. They usually form at
low altitudes (below 6,000 feet) and cover roughly 20 percent of the
low-latitude oceans, or 6.5 percent of the Earth’s surface. There are
two primary forms of marine stratocumulus cloud—open- and
closed-cell—and both types are seen in this image. Both forms are built
on honeycomb- shaped “cells”. Open-celled clouds look like empty
compartments, while the structure of closed-cell clouds appears to be
stuffed with fluffy white cloud.

A bank of close-cell stratocumulus cloud can act like a large blanket
over the Earth, covering nearly 100 percent of the underlying land
surface, and yet reflect a large portion of solar radiation. This can
create a cooling effect on the Earth under the clouds. On the other
hand, a bank of the more loosely-formed open-cell clouds block very
little solar radiation. Open-cell clouds have been associated with the
development of precipitation, with pockets of open-cell clouds opening
as rain begins to fall. A deck of closed-cell clouds produces little or
no drizzle.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/6/2023
Resolutions: 1km (743.8 KB), 500m (2 MB), 250m (1.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-06-07

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