MISR Near Real-Time Products Now Available through LANCE

Josh Blumenfeld, EOSDIS Science Writer

Near real-time (NRT) products from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument are now part of NASA’s Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) system. The specific MISR NRT products available through LANCE are the Level 1 Georeferenced Radiance Product (both ellipsoid- and terrain-projected) and the Level 2 Cloud Motion Vector (CMV) product (in both BUFR and HDF file formats). Data for MISR NRT products are organized in 10-50 minute sessions representing a portion of a single MISR orbit.

MISR is one of five instruments aboard NASA’s Terra Earth observing satellite, which was launched in December 1999. MISR studies Earth’s climate by using nine cameras installed at different angles to sense how sunlight is scattered as it passes through the atmosphere. As the instrument flies overhead, each region of Earth’s surface is successively imaged by all nine cameras in four separate wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). MISR data are used to monitor monthly, seasonal, and long-term trends in:

• the amount and type of dust particles in the atmosphere (aerosols), including those formed by natural sources (such as volcanic eruptions) and by human activities (such as through industrial pollution);
• the amount, types, and heights of clouds; and
• the distribution of land surface cover, including vegetation canopy structure.

MISR Level 1 NRT data products consist of cloud radiance measurements. These measurements are either ellipsoid- or terrain-projected onto a Space-Oblique Mercator (SOM) map grid and defined throughout the 380 km-wide (about 236 mile-wide) MISR swath. The SOM map projection was developed for images from the Landsat series of Earth observing satellites, which cover the same large geographic area as MISR. The SOM map grid uses a coordinate system that is aligned with Terra satellite orbits to minimize shape distortion and scale errors throughout the length of the MISR swath near its satellite ground track. An ellipsoid projection is appropriate for data applications requiring a stereoscopic visualization of topographic relief and cloud altitudes, while the terrain projection is used for applications requiring the data to be co-registered at the land surface altitude. Level 1 NRT data products are available in HDF format.

The Level 2 NRT products are height resolved CMV winds measurements derived from the Level 1 MISR NRT products. The Level 2 CMV NRT product is gridded at 17.6 km (10.9 mile) horizontal resolution and is similar to the MISR Level 3 CMV standard data product. Level 2 NRT products are available in both BUFR and HDF file formats.

LANCE data, including the MISR NRT products, generally are available within three hours of a satellite observation. While not intended for scientific research, MISR NRT data provide valuable information for tracking ongoing events as they are occurring, and are particularly valuable for creating weather forecasts based on numerical models. MISR standard data products, that is, those products that have the processing and ephemeris information necessary for use in scientific research, are available through NASA’s Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC).

LANCE is part of NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), which provides end-to-end capabilities for managing NASA’s Earth science data. These data are acquired from satellites, aircraft, field measurements, and numerous other EOSDIS programs. The primary services provided by EOSDIS are data archive, management, and distribution; information management; product generation; and user support services. These services are managed by the Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project.

Links to MISR Data and Additional Resources:

• MISR NRT data at LANCE
• MISR data (general)
• MISR data at ASDC

Published June 16, 2016