WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument MVIRI

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Instrument: MVIRI

Instrument details

Acronym	MVIRI
Full name	Meteosat Visible Infra-Red Imager
Purpose	Multi-purpose imagery and wind derivation by tracking clouds and water vapour features
Short description	3 VIS/TIR channels [see detailed characteristics below] Monitoring and calibration information here
Background	Flown on Meteosat First Generation
Scanning Technique	Mechanical, spinning satellite, E-W continuous, S-N stepping
Resolution	IFOV: 5.0 km for IR channels, 2.5 km for the VIS channel
Coverage / Cycle	Full disk every 30 min. Limited areas in correspondingly shorter time intervals
Mass	65 kg	Power	17 W	Data Rate	333 kbps

Providing Agency	ESA
Instrument Maturity	Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period:	1978 to 2017
Last update:	2024-09-23

Detailed characteristics

Central wavelength	Spectral interval	SNR or NEΔT @ specified input
0.70 µm	0.50 - 0.90 µm	3.0 @ 1 % albedo
6.40 µm	5.70 - 7.10 µm	1.0 K @ 250 K
11.5 µm	10.5 - 12.5 µm	0.5 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

Meteosat First Generation (EUMETSAT)
- Meteosat-1 (see instrument status) Feb 1978 - Nov 1979
- Meteosat-2 (see instrument status) Sep 1981 - Dec 1991
- Meteosat-3 (see instrument status) Sep 1988 - Aug 1991
- Meteosat-4 (see instrument status) Jun 1989 - Nov 1995
- Meteosat-5 (see instrument status) Jun 1991 - Jun 1998
- Meteosat-3 (ADC) (see instrument status) Aug 1991 - Feb 1993
- Meteosat-3 (X-ADC) (see instrument status) Feb 1993 - Nov 1995
- Meteosat-6 (see instrument status) Feb 1994 - Apr 2007
- Meteosat-5 (IODC) (see instrument status) Jun 1998 - Apr 2007
- Meteosat-7 (see instrument status) Jun 1998 - May 2006
- Meteosat-7 (IODC) (see instrument status) Dec 2006 - Feb 2017
- Meteosat-6 (IODC) (see instrument status) Apr 2007 - Apr 2011

Instrument classification

Earth observation instrument
Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
Moderate resolution optical imager

WIGOS Subcomponents

Subcomponent 1
Multi-spectral VIS/IR imagery With rapid repeat cycles [in GEO]
Multi-spectral VIS/IR imager with rapid repeat cycles [in GEO]

Mission objectives

Primary mission objectives

Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column
Cloud cover
Cloud top height
Cloud top temperature
Cloud type
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
Wind (horizontal)

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.

Variable	Relevance for measuring this variable	Operational limitations	Explanation
Accumulated precipitation	4 - fair	Convective precipitation dominant.. Calibration by MW needed.	TIR channel(s) in the 10-13 micrometers range. Frequent sampling (GEO) is essential for accumulated precipitation.
Cloud cover*	4 - fair	No specific limitation.	VIS and TIR channels
Cloud top height*	3 - high	No specific limitation.	TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) to estimate cloud top height from its temperature
Cloud top temperature*	3 - high	No specific limitation.	TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Cloud type*	4 - fair	Daylight only.	VIS and TIR channels
Fire fractional cover	4 - fair	Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.	VIS and TIR channels
Fire radiative power	5 - marginal	Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.	TIR channels. Frequent sampling (GEO) enables early detection
Fire temperature	5 - marginal	Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.	TIR channels. Frequent sampling (GEO) enables early detection
Precipitation intensity at surface (liquid or solid)	3 - high	Convective precipitation dominant.. Calibration by MW needed.	TIR channel(s) in the 11 micrometers window. Frequent sampling (GEO) consistent with precipitation temporal variability
Sea surface temperature	5 - marginal	Cloud sensitive.	TIR window channel(s) around 11 micrometers .
Snow cover	5 - marginal	Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only.	VIS channel(s). Frequent sampling (GEO) improves probability of cloud-free views
Soil moisture at surface	4 - fair	Cloud sensitive.. Index only.	VIS and TIR window channels. Soil moisture inferred from thermal inertia, that is accurately measured by frequent sampling (GEO)
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*	4 - fair	Cloud sensitive.. Middle troposphere dominant.	TIR channels in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column*	1 - primary	Cloud sensitive.	TIR channel(s). Frequent sampling (GEO) enables early detection of ash plumes
Wind (horizontal)*	3 - high	Cloud or water vapour tracers needed.	VIS channel(s) and TIR channels around 6.3 and 11 micrometers. Frequent sampling (GEO) enables inference from cloud or water vapour pathces motion