NSSDCA ID: 1978-064A-04
Mission Name: Seasat 1The Visible and Infrared Radiometer (VIRR) experiment provided (1) cloudcover and (2) clear air sea surface termperatures and cloud top brightness temperatures. This sensor, nearly identical to the Scanning Radiometer (SR) flown on the ITOS/NOAA series spacecraft, consisted of two scanning radiometers, a dual SR processor and two SR recorders. The radiometer measured reflected radiation from the earth/atmosphere system in the 0.49- to 0.94-micrometer region during the day and emitted thermal IR radiation from the earth and its atmosphere in the 10.5- to 12.5-micrometer region during both daytime and nighttime. The measurements were used to aid in interpreting the measurements from the microwave instruments. The spatial resolution was 9 km for both channels. More detailed information can be found in P. MaClain, "Visible and infrared radiometer on Seasat-1," IEEE J. Oceanic Eng., v. OE-5, pp. 164-168, 1980. The instrument performance was better than specified until August 27, 1978, when the scan drive ceased functioning. Data are available from SDSD.
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. James A. Dunne | General Contact | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | |
Dr. E. Paul McClain | Team Leader | NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service | |
Dr. Fred M. Vukovich | Team Member | Research Triangle Institute | |
Dr. Oscar K. Huh | Team Member | Louisiana State University | |
Mr. R. Bernstein | Team Member | Scripps Institution of Oceanography | |
Mr. Keith D. Fellerman | Team Member | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | |
Dr. William L. Barnes | Team Member | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | wbarnes@neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov |