THIR/Nimbus-7 Images of Daytime and Nighttime Brightness Temperature on 70 mm Film V001 (THIRN7IM) at GES DISC

THIRN7IM is the Nimbus-7 Temperature-Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) data product consisting of daily montages of brightness temperatures measured at 6.7 and 11.5 microns. Each montage contains either a daytime or nighttime assembly of up to 14 individual swaths. Each swath corresponds to a distance approximately from pole to pole and a width from horizon to horizon. The ground resolution is 22.6 km for 6.7 microns and 8.2 km for 11.5 microns at nadir and decreases as the horizontal distance from the subsatellite track increases. Below each swath is information describing the orbit number, and the equator crossing longitude and time.

The THIR instrument was designed to detect emitted thermal radiation in both the 10.5 to 12.5 micron region (IR window) and the 6.5 to 7.0 micron region (water vapor). The window channel measured cloudtop temperatures day and night. The other channel operated primarily at night to map the water vapor distribution in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. The THIR experiment made measurements from Oct. 30, 1978 to May 9, 1985 when the instrument was turned off to conserve power. Additional information can be found in section 9 of "The Nimbus 7 User's Guide," and the "Nimbus 7 Temperature-Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) Data User's Guide."

This product was previously available from the NSSDC as two products with the identifiers ESAD-00174 and ESAD-00239 (old ID 78-098A-10A and 78-098A-10B).