EOS Validation Program

Institution: University of Washington
Phone: (206) 685-2609
E-mail: jessup@apl.washington.edu

December 2001
Final Report, May, 2003

The primary objective of this proposal is to develop and deploy inexpensive and robust systems for autonomous infrared measurement of SST to an accuracy of +/- 0.1C. A secondary objective will be to investigate and account for the effects of incidence angle, wind-induced surface roughness, sky reflection, and breaking waves on measurements required for MODIS SST validation. We propose to provide in situ calibrated infrared (IR) measurements of SST using an autonomous instrument system to augment the pre- and post-launch validation plan for the MODIS SST algorithm. Our aim is to support the activities planned for the Marine-Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (M-AERI), by providing broader global coverage than is possible with the limited number of M-AERIs available. We propose to develop a prototype and deploy a total of 6 operational units of the proposed system.