BackForwardInstrument:  IIR 

Instrument details
Acronym IIR
Full name Imaging Infrared Radiometer
Purpose To support the CALIPSO mission (main instrument: CALIOP, nadir-viewing). Specific for cirrus clouds
Short description Three-channel IR radiometer [see detailed characteristics below]
Background Consolidated technology
Scanning Technique Push-broom, swath 64 km surrounding the CALIOP viewing area
Resolution 1 km
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage in 16 d (orbit repeat cycle) for cells of 100 km side
Mass 24 kg Power 27 W Data Rate 50 kbps

 

Providing Agency CNES
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2006 to 2023
Last update: 2022-07-27
Detailed characteristics
Central wavelength Spectral interval NEΔT @ specified scene temperature
8.65 µm 8.25 - 9.05 µm 0.3 K @ 300 K
10.60 µm 10.2 - 11.0 µm 0.3 K @ 300 K
12.00 µm 11.6 - 12.4 µm 0.3 K @ 300 K
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Moderate resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud cover
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud top temperature
  • Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Cloud cover*5 - marginalNo specific limitation.TIR channel(s)
Cloud top height*3 - highNo specific limitation.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) to estimate cloud top height from its temperature
Cloud top temperature*2 - very highNo specific limitation.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Fire fractional cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Fire radiative power5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Fire temperature5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Land surface temperature4 - fairCloud sensitive.TIR split window channels around 11 micrometers for water vapour correction
Sea surface temperature4 - fairCloud sensitive.TIR split window channels around 11 micrometers for water vapour correction
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR channels around 6.3 micrometers and in the 11 micrometers split window
Wind (horizontal)4 - fairLimited to high latitudes.. Cloud or water vapour tracers needed.TIR channels in the 11 micrometers window and the 6.3 micrometers water vapour band