BackForwardInstrument:  OCTS 

Instrument details
Acronym OCTS
Full name Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner
Purpose Multipurpose VIS/IR imagery
Short description 12-channel radiometer, 8 narrow-bandwidth in the range 0.40-0.89 ?m for ocean colour and vegetation, 4 in the range 3.5-12.7 ?m [see detailed characteristcs below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Wiskbroom, 1400 km swath, capability of ± 20° off-pointing along track to avoid sunglint
Resolution 700 m s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Global each day for LW channels, each two days for SW channels
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency JAXA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1996 to 1997
Last update: 2013-12-04
Detailed characteristics

Central wavelength

Bandwidth

SNR or NEΔT @ specified input

412 nm

20 nm

450 @ 145 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

443 nm

20 nm

500 @ 150 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

490 nm

20 nm

500 @ 130 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

520 nm

18 nm

500 @ 120 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

565 nm

20 nm

500 @ 90 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

670 nm

20 nm

500 @ 60 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

765 nm

40 nm

500 @ 40 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

865 nm

40 nm

450 @ 20 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1

3.715 μm

0.33 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

8.525 μm

0.55 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

10.8 μm

1.1 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

12.0 μm

1.3 μm

0.20 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
  • Subcomponent 1
  • High-resolution multi-spectral VIS/IR imagers
  • High-resolution multi-spectral VIS/IR imager
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Biomass
  • Cloud cover
  • Cloud optical depth
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud top temperature
  • Cloud type
  • Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)
  • Leaf Area Index (LAI)
  • Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
  • Sea surface temperature
  • Sea-ice cover
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
Aerosol column burden3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol effective radius3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol mass mixing ratio3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol Optical Depth3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol type3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Biomass*5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI
Cloud cover*2 - very highNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR, MWIR and TIR channels
Cloud drop effective radius3 - highAt cloud top.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and MWIR channels (for differentiation)
Cloud ice effective radius3 - highAt cloud top.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and MWIR channels (for differentiation)
Cloud optical depth*4 - fairLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
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)
Cloud type*2 - very highNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR, MWIR and TIR channels
Colour Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM)4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.VIS and NIR channels
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR channels including the water vapour band
Earth surface albedo5 - marginalCloud sensitive.VIS channels
Fire fractional cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.VIS, MWIR and TIR channels
Fire radiative power2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.MWIR and TIR channels
Fire temperature2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.MWIR and TIR channels
Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)*3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS channels including Red at 700 nm
Land surface temperature3 - highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR window channels (high sensitivity to high temperature, cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction)
Leaf Area Index (LAI)*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. LAI inferred from NDVI
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)*3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS and NIR channels
Ocean chlorophyll concentration 4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Ocean Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient (DAC)4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Ocean suspended sediments concentration4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Oil spill cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS channels with narrow bandwidth
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS channels, range accurately sampled
Sea surface temperature*2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR window channels around 3.7 and 11 micrometers (cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction)
Short-wave cloud reflectance5 - marginalNo specific limitation.VIS and NIR channels
Snow cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Soil moisture at surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.VIS, NIR, MWIR and TIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness and thermal inertia
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR channels around 6.3 micrometers and in the 11 micrometers split window
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.VIS and NIR channels
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.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 surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
Aerosol volcanic ash3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level ashes
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level ashes
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
Sea-ice cover*3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS, NIR (for contour enhancement), MWIR and TIR channels