ATSR consists of two instruments, an Infra-Red Radiometer (IRR) and a Microwave Sounder (MWS). On board ERS-1 the IRR is a four-channel infra-red radiometer used for measuring sea-surface temperatures (SST) and cloud-top temperatures, whereas on board ERS-2 the IRR is equipped with additional visible channels for vegetation monitoring. The MWS is a two channel passive radiometer.
Status
Operational
Type
Imaging multi-spectral radiometers (vis/IR)
Technical Characteristics
Accuracy
Sea surface temperature to <0.5K over 0.5 deg x 0.5 deg (lat/long) area with 80% cloud cover, Land surface temperature: 0.1K
Spatial Resolution
IR ocean channels: 1km x 1km, Microwave near-nadir viewing: 20km instantaneous field of view
Swath Width
500km
Waveband
VIS-SWIR: 0.65, 0.85, 1.27, and 1.6m, SWIR-TIR: 1.6, 3.7, 11 and 12m, Microwave: 23.8, 36.5GHz (bandwidth of 400MHz)
Applications
Ocean and Coast (Sea Surface Temperature)
Atmosphere (Clouds/Precipitation)
Agriculture (Forestry)
Snow and Ice (Sea Ice)
Natural Disasters (Fire,Earthquake/Volcano)
The scheduled maintenance affecting the (A)ATSR MERCI service on Monday 25 January 2010 has been completed and the service is now back to nominal operations.
EO Data Access
