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Instrument: 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 1983-03-29
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
No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Cloud cover Cloud top height Cloud top temperature Cloud type Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
Secondary mission objectives Sea surface temperature Sea-ice cover Snow cover
Opportunity objectives Fire fractional cover Fire radiative power Fire temperature Soil moisture at surface Wind (horizontal) Show all Show fewer
Tentative 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
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
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
Fire temperature 5 - marginal Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution. TIR channels
Sea surface temperature 5 - marginal Cloud sensitive. TIR window channel(s) around 11 micrometers .
Sea-ice cover 5 - marginal Cloud sensitive. VIS and TIR channels
Snow cover 5 - marginal Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. VIS channel(s)
Soil moisture at surface 4 - fair Cloud sensitive.. Index only. VIS and TIR window channels. Soil moisture inferred from thermal inertia
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) 4 - fair Cloud sensitive.. Middle troposphere dominant. TIR channels in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
Wind (horizontal) 4 - fair Limited to high latitudes.. Cloud or water vapour tracers needed. TIR channels in the 11 micrometers window and the 6.3 micrometers water vapour band