Chapter 15
Use of TIR from Space in Operational Systems
Helen M. Beggs
15.1 Introduction
Data from the thermal-infrared (TIR) channels of scanners flown on polar-orbiting
and geostationary meteorological satellites are routinely used for the determination
of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) at depths less than 0.1 mm (Robinson, 1985).
There are many operational meteorological, oceanographic and ecosystem management systems that use SST data from these TIR satellite sensors. The aim of this
chapter will be to review how satellite infrared SST (IR SST) observations are currently used in these operational systems, their particular requirements for SST and
recommendations for future developments.
In the absence of cloud, thermal-infrared radiometers such as AVHRR, AATSR
and MODIS on polar-orbiting satellites provide twice-daily repeat measurements
of SST at the highest spatial resolution currently available from a satellite (1 km).
The most accurate satellite TIR sensor is the dual-view AATSR on EnviSat, providing improved atmospheric correction resulting in accuracy <0.2 ◦ C (O’Carroll
et al., 2008). However, this sensor has limited coverage compared with the
less accurate (~0.3–0.5 ◦ C) AVHRR or MODIS, due to much narrower swath
width.
Geostationary satellites (e.g. USA’s GOES, Europe’s MSG and Japan’s MTSAT
series) carry radiometers with IR window channels similar to AVHRR. Their horizontal resolution is coarser (3–5 km) but they sample at higher temporal resolution
(generally half-hourly). Within the modern-era SST record (commencing with TIR
from AVHRR in 1981) there are a wide variety of global, spatially-mapped SST
products available for research and operational applications. The different types are:
H.M. Beggs (B)
Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Australian Bureau of Meteorology,
Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia
e-mail: H.Beggs@bom.gov.au
249
V. Barale et al. (eds.), Oceanography from Space,
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8681-5_15, C
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
Use of TIR from Space in Operational Systems
Helen M. Beggs
15.1 Introduction
Data from the thermal-infrared (TIR) channels of scanners flown on polar-orbiting
and geostationary meteorological satellites are routinely used for the determination
of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) at depths less than 0.1 mm (Robinson, 1985).
There are many operational meteorological, oceanographic and ecosystem management systems that use SST data from these TIR satellite sensors. The aim of this
chapter will be to review how satellite infrared SST (IR SST) observations are currently used in these operational systems, their particular requirements for SST and
recommendations for future developments.
In the absence of cloud, thermal-infrared radiometers such as AVHRR, AATSR
and MODIS on polar-orbiting satellites provide twice-daily repeat measurements
of SST at the highest spatial resolution currently available from a satellite (1 km).
The most accurate satellite TIR sensor is the dual-view AATSR on EnviSat, providing improved atmospheric correction resulting in accuracy <0.2 ◦ C (O’Carroll
et al., 2008). However, this sensor has limited coverage compared with the
less accurate (~0.3–0.5 ◦ C) AVHRR or MODIS, due to much narrower swath
width.
Geostationary satellites (e.g. USA’s GOES, Europe’s MSG and Japan’s MTSAT
series) carry radiometers with IR window channels similar to AVHRR. Their horizontal resolution is coarser (3–5 km) but they sample at higher temporal resolution
(generally half-hourly). Within the modern-era SST record (commencing with TIR
from AVHRR in 1981) there are a wide variety of global, spatially-mapped SST
products available for research and operational applications. The different types are:
H.M. Beggs (B)
Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Australian Bureau of Meteorology,
Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia
e-mail: H.Beggs@bom.gov.au
249
V. Barale et al. (eds.), Oceanography from Space,
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8681-5_15, C
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010