Jet Streams

Identifying Features of the Jet Stream

Let’s look more closely at the southernmost jet stream that extends from the south of Morocco east-northeast over the Sahara. View the animations, looking for areas of clouds that are associated with the jet stream. Then answer the question below.

Question

For each statement below, select the type of satellite product that it applies to.

a) The jet is accompanied by clouds with clearly defined elongated features that contrast sharply with the dark surface in the images.
b) The fibre is accompanied by a dark stripe in the images.
c) The reddish color of the feature indicates that it’s a jet streak in the images.
d) The structure of jet is difficult to see in the because the associated cirrus is very thin.

Typically, jets are accompanied by clouds with elongated features that contrast sharply with the dark surface in IR images. The fibres are often also accompanied by a dark stripe in WV images and a red stripe in airmass RGBs. The structure of the jet is often difficult to see in VIS images because the associated cirrus is very thin.

In our case, particularly in the southern part of Morocco, the jet is not quite clear in the WV imagery because there is no dark stripe and in the airmass RGB imagery because there is no reddish colour. But we can identify the jet by the presence of the cirrus band with elongated features that are well drawn and clearly limited. These atmospheric regions indicate the presence of turbulent flow due to the jet stream. In the visible imagery, clouds associated with the jet are a little difficult to detect since the jet fibres are nearly transparent.