The Numerical Simulation of Infrared Satellite Measurements Over the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian Sea

• Main Author: Minnett, P. J.
• Other Authors: SACLANT UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTRE LA SPEZIA (ITALY)
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1988
• Subjects: Meteorology; Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Infrared Detection and Detectors; *RADIOMETERS; *INFRARED SPECTRA; *OCEAN SURFACE; FREQUENCY; MEASUREMENT; MODIFICATION; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; WAVEFORMS; NUMERICAL ANALYSIS; ACCURACY; RADIATIVE TRANSFER; VARIABLES; FORTRAN; SEASONAL VARIATIONS; COEFFICIENTS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ERRORS; ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES; SELF OPERATION; CALIBRATION; INFRARED RADIATION; POLAR ORBIT TRAJECTORIES; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; NORWEGIAN SEA; INFRARED EQUIPMENT; GREENLAND SEA; EARTH ATMOSPHERE; TEMPERATURE MEASURING INSTRUMENTS; INTERVALS; INFRARED DETECTION; ICELAND; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; ALGORITHMS; AVHRR(ADVANCED VERY HIGH RESOLUTION RADIOMETERS); SPLIT WINDOW ALGORITHMS; ATMOSPHERIC VARIABILITY; NATO FURNISHED; FOREIGN REPORTS; Greenland; Norwegian Sea; Greenland Sea; Iceland
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA198653; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA198653

The accuracy with which self-calibrating satellite infrared radiometers can measure sea-surface temperature is limited by the modification of the electromagnetic radiation before it reaches the radiometer. These physical effects are described for the spectral interval of infrared wavelengths from approx. 10 to approx. 14 microns and the 'split-window' expression for sea- surface temperature is derived and discussed. An accurate numerical line-by-line model of the radiative transfer through the atmosphere is presented and is used to simulate measurements of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/ 2) on the NOAA series of near-polar orbiting satellites for conditions of the region of the Greenland, Iceland and Norwegian Seas. A set of regionally optimized zenith-angle dependent coefficients for the 'split-window' algorithm is derived and its error characteristics are discussed. While the benefit of using such coefficients is demonstrated, the errors resulting from failing to account properly for seasonal changes in this particular region are shown to be relatively small. The FORTRAN programs used for the AVHRR/2 simulations at SACLANTCEN are described in appendixes. Keywords: Atmospheric variability.