| Biomass | 5 - marginal | Cloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI |
| Cloud cover* | 2 - very high | Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS, NIR, MWIR and TIR channels |
| Cloud drop effective radius | 3 - high | At cloud top.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS, NIR and MWIR channels (for differentiation) |
| Cloud ice effective radius | 3 - high | At cloud top.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS, NIR and MWIR channels (for differentiation) |
| Cloud optical depth* | 4 - fair | Low-density cloud only.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels |
| Cloud top height* | 3 - high | Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) to estimate cloud top height from its temperature |
| Cloud top temperature* | 2 - very high | Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) |
| Cloud type* | 2 - very high | Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS, NIR, MWIR and TIR channels |
| Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface | 5 - marginal | Cloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels |
| Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR channels including the water vapour band |
| Earth surface short-wave bidirectional reflectance | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progresses |
| Fire fractional cover | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS, MWIR and TIR channels. Frequent sampling (From Molniya orbit) enables early detection |
| Fire radiative power | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR channels. Frequent sampling enables early detection |
| Fire temperature | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR channels. Frequent sampling enables early detection |
| Land surface temperature | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR window channels (high sensitivity to high temperature, cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction) |
| Leaf Area Index (LAI) | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels. LAI inferred from NDVI |
| Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels |
| O3 Total Column | 5 - marginal | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | TIR channel(s). Ozone lines in band around 9.7 micrometers. Frequent sampling enables monitoring diurnal variations |
| Sea surface temperature | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR window channels around 3.7 and 11 micrometers (cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction) |
| Sea-ice cover | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive. | VIS, NIR (for contour enhancement), MWIR and TIR channels |
| Short-wave cloud reflectance | 5 - marginal | Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels |
| Snow cover | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels. Frequent sampling improves probability of cloud-free views |
| Soil moisture at surface | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North). Index only. | VIS, NIR, MWIR and TIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness and thermal inertia, that are accurately measured by frequent sampling |
| Specific humidity | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.. Middle troposphere only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | TIR channels in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers |
| Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR channels around 6.3 micrometers and in the 11 micrometers split window |
| Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA | 5 - marginal | Spectral interpolation needed.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS and NIR channels with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progresses |
| Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA | 5 - marginal | Spectral interpolation needed.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers |
| Upward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers |
| Aerosol volcanic ash | 5 - marginal | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | VIS and NIR channels |
| Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | TIR channel(s). Frequent sampling enables early detection of ash plumes |
| Wind (horizontal)* | 3 - high | Cloud or water vapour tracers needed.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North) | VIS channel(s) and TIR channels around 6.3 and 11 micrometers. Frequent sampling enables inference from cloud or water vapour pathces motion |
Instrument: MSU-GS/A