Description
TIROS-2 Medium-Resolution Scanning Radiometer Level 1 Final Meteorological Radiation Data (FMRT) product contains radiances expressed in five infrared/visible wavelength regions, expressed in either equivalent blackbody temperature (IR channels 1 and 2) or effective radiant emmitance (visible channels 3 and 5). The data will trace an elliptical, parabolic, or hyperbolic pattern on the ground due to the rotating of the instrument about the satellite spin axis. There is one orbit per file. The data were originally written on IBM 7094 machines, and these have been recovered from magnetic tapes, referred to as the Final Meteorological Radiation Tapes (FMRT). The data are archived in their original IBM 36-bit word proprietary format, also referred to as a binary TAP file.
The TIROS-2 satellite was successfully launched on November 23, 1960. The Medium-Resolution Scanning Radiometer experiment successfully returned data for about five months, becoming the first radiometer to make meteorlogical measurements from space. Three follow-on instruments were flown on TIROS-3, -4 and -7. Initially, all channels performed normally. However, channels 1 and 4 gradually deteriorated and by January 1961 were useless. The signal to noise ratio of channels 3 and 5 was extremely low, and the output was highly questionable. The instrument is a five channel radiometer with a 55 km footprint at nadir with the following characteristics:
Channel 1: 6.0 to 6.5 microns - water vapor absorption
Channel 2: 8.0 to 12.0 microns - atmospheric window
Channel 3: 0.2 to 6.0 microns - reflected solar radiation
Channel 4: 8.0 to 30 microns - terrestial radiation
Channel 5: 0.55 to 0.75 microns - response to the TV system
The Principal Investigator for these data was Joseph D. Barksdale from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This product was previously available from the NSSDC with the identifier ESAD-00113 (old ID 60-016A-02A).
Resources
| Name | Format | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download this dataset through a directory map | HTML | Access the data via HTTPS. | Open resource |
| View this dataset's read me document | README Document | Open resource | |
| Get a related visualization | PNG | TIROS-2 L1 FMRT data showing data coverage from the scanning radiometer channel 2 (8-12 microns) for the first orbit on June 19, 1963. | Open resource |
| View documentation related to this dataset | HTML | TIROS Inventory | Open resource |
| View this dataset's user's guide | TIROS II Radiation Data Catalog | Open resource | |
| View this dataset's user's guide | TIROS II Radiation Data Users' Manual | Open resource | |
| Google Scholar search results | HTML | Search results for publications that cite this dataset by its DOI. | Open resource |
| Download this dataset through Earthdata Search | HTML | Use the Earthdata Search Client to find and retrieve data sets across multiple data centers. | Open resource |