ESA - Observing the Earth - ERS-2 peers into Hurricane Isabel's heart

About Observing the Earth

How does Earth Observation work?How to get Earth observation data Integrating Earth Observation in your job Earth Observation users speak

EO programmes

The Living Planet GMES

ESA's Earth Observing missions

Envisat overview ERS overview Earth Explorers overview Sentinels overview MSG overview MetOp overview Proba-1 overview Third Party Missions overview

Opportunities with us

Education & training International cooperation Milestones & announcements EO conferences organised by ESA

Multimedia

Image Gallery Video Gallery Online resources RSS feeds

Services

Calendar Subscribe

Article Images

ERS-2 peers into Hurricane Isabel's heart

18 September 2003

Back to article

Download:

HI RES JPG (Size: 544 kb)

This reduced resolution (1200 metre) image shows Hurricane Isabel off the US East Coast, acquired by MERIS on board ESA’s Envisat spacecraft at 14.58 UTC on 17 September 2003. Envisat is ESA’s latest Earth Observation satellite, launched February 2002. Its orbit is a half hour ahead but otherwise identical to that of ERS-2, whose scatterometer also acquired useful meteorological measurements of the hurricane’s heart.

Back to article

Download:

HI RES JPG (Size: 233 kb)

A map of the wind field at the heart of Hurricane Isabel, using data acquired at 15.23 UTC on 17 September 2003 by the C-band scatterometer on board ESA's ERS-2 spacecraft. The map indicates wind direction and also wind velocity - the more lines on each bar, the highest the velocity. The data provides insight into the pressure system powering the hurricane.

Credits: ESA

Inside a hurricane

Back to article

Download:

HI RES JPG (Size: 533 kb)

This reduced resolution (1200 metre) image of Hurricane Isabel was acquired by MERIS on board ESA's Envisat spacecraft on 16 September, and shows the edge of the hurricane approaching the US East Coast.