Shape and radiative properties of convective systems observed from infrared satellite images

The main purpose of this study is to identify a series of parameters to characterize the shape and internal structure of a convective system (CS). One year of brightness temperatures derived from Meteosat 3 (July 1992-June 1993) (ISCCP-B3 data) was used to develop this work. The identification of convective systems was performed by pixels whose brightness infrared temperature values (T-ir) were below 245 K. The main results obtained are: (a) the shape of a given system which can be categorized in three classes: (i) linear systems, (ii) circular and elliptical systems and (iii) fragmented systems; (b) the restitution of a given CS using only statistical information; (c) the identification of the distribution of the number of coldest tops inside a given system; and (d) the evaluation of the stage of the life cycle through a statistical study of internal structure and radiative parameters.