France is visible in this MERIS image, along with portions of several other European countries, including Austria, Belgium, England, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Two mountain ranges filled with snow can clearly be seen: the Pyrenees and the Alps, with their highest points, respectively, at 3404 meters (Aneto peak) and 4807 meters (Mont Blanc).

Also visible are the major French cities and their surrounding areas, including Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux and Toulouse. The Rhone, the Seine and the Garonne rivers are carrying large quantities of sediments to in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, visible as green plumes.

Technical Information:
Instrument: MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)
Date of Acquisition: 24 March 2002
Orbit number: 00335
Instrument features: Full resolution image (300-meter resolution).

Credits: ESA

Urban areas are generally visible in bright yellow tones, indicating equally high backscatter in VV and HH polarisation. The green-yellow colour that dominates the image results from the extensive forests in this region (medium backscatter in VV and HH). Agricultural land in the river plains to the east and south appears in magenta and purple shades (VV backscatter dominates). A number of small river systems, probably frozen, are highlighted in cyan (dominant HH backscatter).

Technical Information:
Instrument: Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR)
Mode: Image Swath 6
Acquisition date: 08 April 2002
Orbit number: 00554
Orbit direction: Ascending
Polarisation: VV-HH
Resolution: 30 metres
Instrument Features: Envisat’s ASAR instrument is the first permanent space-based radar to incorporate dual-polarisation capabilities - the instrument can transmit and receive signals in either horizontal or vertical polarisation. This Alternating Polarisation (AP) mode can improve the capability of a SAR instrument to classify different types of terrain. Because the reflective properties of a surface are dependant on the polarisation of the incoming radar signal, the use of more than one type of polarisation provides valuable extra information.

Credits: ESA

France is visible in this MERIS image, along with portions of several other European countries, including Austria, Belgium, England, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Two mountain ranges filled with snow can clearly be seen: the Pyrenees and the Alps, with their highest points, respectively, at 3404 meters (Aneto peak) and 4807 meters (Mont Blanc).

Also visible are the major French cities and their surrounding areas, including Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux and Toulouse. The Rhone, the Seine and the Garonne rivers are carrying large quantities of sediments to in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, visible as green plumes.

Technical Information:
Instrument: MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)
Date of Acquisition: 24 March 2002
Orbit number: 00335
Instrument features: Full resolution image (300-meter resolution).

Credits: ESA

Technical Information:
Instrument: Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR)
Date of Acquisition: 11 April 2002
Orbit number: 00590
Instrument features: AATSR is a visible and infrared sensor with nadir-viewing and forward-viewing angles. This should enable it to measure sea surface temperatures with an accuracy of 0.3 Kelvin.

Credits: ESA