Radiometric observations of sea surface temperature in the Atlantic using the SISTeR high precision radiometer

Timothy Nightingale	R.A.L., Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0QX, U.K. T.J.Nightingale@rl.ac.uk http://www.atsr.rl.ac.uk/
Craig Donlon	University of Colorado, C.C.A.R. / Aero Engineering, Campus Box 431, Boulder, CO 80309, U.S.A. cjdn@boulder.colorado.edu http://www-ccar.colorado.edu/
Christopher Mutlow	R.A.L., Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0QX, U.K. C.T.Mutlow@rl.ac.uk http://www.atsr.rl.ac.uk/
Ian Robinson	S.O.C., European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, U.K.

Abstract

The Scanning Infrared Sea surface Temperature Radiometer (SISTeR), a compact ship-borne radiometer, has been developed to make high-precision measurements of infrared radiance at 3.7 mm, 10.8 mm and 12.0 mm. The instrument is a self-calibrating radiometer which refers external measurements of the sea and sky to two internal calibration black bodies. All aspects of the instrument, including the measurement sequence, can be controlled through a simple "C'' program and data is transmitted over a fibre-optic link to a remote PC groundstation.

In autumn 1996, a series of measurements of upwelling and downwelling radiance at 10.8 mm were made with the SISTeR instrument on an Atlantic transect stretching from Grimsby, U.K. to Port Stanley, Fal