MISR Geometric Parameters V003

MIB2GEOP_003 is the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Geometric Parameters Version 3 product. It contains the Geometric Parameters which measure the sun and view angles at the reference ellipsoid. Data collection for this product is ongoing. The distribution format of this product is NetCDF-4 which is a migration from the previous version's format of HDF-EOS2. MISR itself is an instrument designed to view Earth with cameras pointed in 9 different directions. As the instrument flies overhead, each piece of Earth's surface below is successively imaged by all 9 cameras, in each of 4 wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). The goal of MISR is to improve our understanding of the affects of sunlight on Earth, as well as distinguish different types of clouds, particles and surfaces. Specifically, MISR monitors the monthly, seasonal, and long-term trends in three areas: 1) amount and type of atmospheric particles (aerosols), including those formed by natural sources and by human activities; 2) amounts, types, and heights of clouds, and 3) distribution of land surface cover, including vegetation canopy structure.