Values of log B above the boundary layer were generally high, often around -7. By 03 UTC, the midtropospheric backscatter decreased, and the GSFC data indicate the presence of an interface between high and low backscatter that tilted southward and eastward with height. However, in this case, the lower tropospheric backscatter field remains quite agitated, with some eastward-leaning 5 km deep plumes of enhanced backscatter arising from the boundary layer in the vicinity of Midway Island. In the false-color representation given, these plumes resemble smoke from a windblown forest fire. Small ratio values indicate large, micrometer-sized particles.
Ratios increase as the wavelength difference increases.