BackForwardInstrument:  SCMR 

Instrument details
Acronym SCMR
Full name Surface Composition Mapping Radiometer
Purpose To exploit reflectivity and differential emissivity to discriminate soil types
Short description 3-channel radiometer, 0.8-1.1 µm, 8.3-9.3 µm and 10.2-11.2 µm
Background As a follow-on of SCMR, a dedicated Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) was flown in 1978
Scanning Technique Cross-track at 10 rps, swath 800 km
Resolution 660 m at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Global in 4 days
Mass 25 kg Power 7 W Data Rate 250 bps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1973 to 1983
Last update: 2012-09-13
Detailed characteristics
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
  • VIS/IR imagery; realisation of a Day/Night band [in SSO]
  • VIS/IR imager [in SSO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud cover
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud top temperature
  • Cloud type
  • 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*4 - fairNo specific limitation.VIS and TIR 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*3 - highNo specific limitation.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Cloud type*4 - fairDaylight only.VIS and TIR channels
Fire fractional cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.VIS and TIR channels
Fire radiative power5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Fire temperature5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Sea surface temperature5 - marginalCloud sensitive.TIR window channel(s) around 11 micrometers .
Snow cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s)
Soil moisture at surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.VIS and TIR window channels. Soil moisture inferred from thermal inertia
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Middle troposphere dominant.TIR channels in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
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 cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.VIS and TIR channels