84th AMS Annual Meeting

Wednesday, 14 January 2004
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer Data Available for Atmosphere, Ocean and Land Surface Characterization
Hall AB
Nancy A. Ritchey, SAIC and NASA/Langley Atmospheric Sciences Data Center, Hampton, VA
Poster PDF (769.5 kB)
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) provides a unique view of Earth, viewing the sunlit portion simultaneously with nine cameras pointed at different angles along the flight track. MISR provides global coverage with high spatial detail. Its imagery is carefully calibrated to provide accurate measures of the brightness, contrast, and color of reflected sunlight. These measurements are vital for increasing our understanding of the Earth's climate, its variation and for understanding the synergy of the atmosphere, ocean and land surface.

MISR provides new information for scientists studying Earth's climate, such as the partitioning of energy and carbon between the land surface and the atmosphere, and the regional and global impacts of different types of atmospheric particles and clouds on climate. The change in reflection at MISR's view angles affords the means to distinguish various types of atmospheric aerosols, cloud forms and land surface covers. Combined with stereoscopic techniques, MISR enables estimation of the total amount of sunlight reflected by Earth's diverse environments.

The NASA Langley Atmospheric Sciences Data Center produces, archives and distributes MISR data products. These products include coregistered and geolocated conditioned radiances in each of the four spectral bands: blue, green, red and near infrared; atmospheric parameters related to aerosols and clouds, as well as retrieved surface bidirectional reflectance and albedo; and gridded global maps of radiance, aerosol and cloud parameters.

MISR data products can be obtained from the NASA Langley Atmospheric Sciences Data Center at http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov.

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