WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument SR

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Instrument: SR

Instrument details

Acronym	SR
Full name	Scanning Radiometer
Purpose	Cloud observation
Short description	Two-channel VIR/IR radiometer, 0.52-0.72 ?m and 10.5-12.5 ?m
Background	Developed after HRIR flown on Nimbus 1/2/3
Scanning Technique	Cross-track, 48 rpm (7.2 km/line), swath 3000 km
Resolution	3.6 km at s.s.p. (VIS) or 7.2 km at s.s.p. (IR)
Coverage / Cycle	Global once/day (VIS) or twice/day (IR)
Mass	7.9 kg	Power	4.8 W	Data Rate	Analogue: 1.6 kHz basic band

Providing Agency	NOAA
Instrument Maturity	Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period:	1970 to 1979
Last update:	2013-12-04

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

NOAA 3rd generation / Improved TIROS Operational System (NOAA)
- ITOS-1 (TIROS-M) (see instrument status) Jan 1970 - Jun 1971
- NOAA-1 (see instrument status) Dec 1970 - Aug 1971
- NOAA-2 (see instrument status) Oct 1972 - Jan 1975
- NOAA-3 (see instrument status) Nov 1973 - Aug 1976
- NOAA-4 (see instrument status) Nov 1974 - Nov 1978
- NOAA-5 (see instrument status) Jul 1976 - Jul 1979

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 temperature
Cloud type

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
Cloud cover*	4 - fair	No specific limitation.	VIS and TIR channels
Cloud top temperature*	5 - marginal	No specific limitation.	TIR window channel(s)
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
Wind (horizontal)	5 - marginal	Limited to high latitudes.. Cloud or water vapour tracers needed.	TIR channel(s) around 11 micrometers window