Typhoon Songda

This three-dimensional image shows the shape of Typhoon Songda, which struck the Japanese homeland in early September 2004. This three-dimensional visualisation of Typhoon Songda was created by combining an Envisat's MERIS image with the height of the top of its clouds, derived from data on a variable also recorded by MERIS known as 'cloud top pressure'. The swirling structure characteristic of tropical cyclones are clearly represented, along with the eye of the storm.