BackForwardInstrument:  ISR 

Instrument details
Acronym ISR
Full name Imaging SpectroRadiometer
Purpose Multi-purpose imagery and wind derivation by tracking clouds and water vapour features
Short description 21 channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Mechanical, 3-axis stabilised satellite, right-left continuous, top-bottom stepping
Resolution Changing with channel and satellite position in the orbit (see table)
Coverage / Cycle Field-of-view from the HEO orbit every 15-30 min.
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency CSA
Instrument Maturity Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period: TBD
Last update: 2017-03-27
Detailed characteristics
Central wavelength Bandwidth SNR or NEΔT @ specified input Resolution (s.s.p. at apogee)

470 nm

40 nm

300 @ 552 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

0.5-1.5 km

640 nm

100 nm

300 @ 449 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

0.5-1.5 km

709 nm

10 nm

300 @ 381 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

0.5-1.5 km

870 nm

40 nm

300 @ 266 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

0.5-1.5 km

1050 nm

20 nm

300 @ 184 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

1.0-3.0 km

1380 nm

20 nm

300 @ 10.0 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

1.0-3.0 km

1610 nm

60 nm

300 @ 67.5 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

0.5-1.5 km

2250 nm

60 nm

300 @ 19.9 W·m-2·sr-1·μm-1

1.0-3.0 km

3.90 μm

0.20 μm

0.12 K @ 300 K

1.5-3.0 km

6.18 μm

0.83 μm

0.35 K @ 240 K

1.5-3.0 km

6.95 μm

0.40 μm

0.35 K @ 240 K

1.5-3.0 km

7.34 μm

0.20 μm

0.35 K @ 240 K

1.5-3.0 km

8.50 μm

0.40 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

1.5-3.0 km

9.61 μm

0.38 μm

0.35 K @ 240 K

1.5-3.0 km

10.35 μm

0.50 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

1.5-3.0 km

11.20 μm

0.80 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

1.5-3.0 km

12.30 μm

1.00 μm

0.15 K @ 300 K

1.5-3.0 km

13.30 μm

0.40 μm

0.50 K @ 240 K

1.5-3.0 km

13.65 μm

0.30 μm

0.50 K @ 240 K

1.5-6.0 km

13.95 μm

0.30 μm

0.50 K @ 240 K

1.5-6.0 km

14.25 μm

0.30 μm

0.50 K @ 240 K

1.5-6.0 km

Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Moderate resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • VIS/NIR/SWIR/IR mission for continuous polar coverage (Arctic and Antarctica)
  • VIS/NIR/SWIR/IR imager for continuous polar coverage (Arctic and Antarctica)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud cover
  • Cloud optical depth
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud top temperature
  • Cloud type
  • Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
  • Wind (horizontal)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Aerosol column burden4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North). Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progressesIS, NIR and SWIR channels with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progresses
Aerosol Optical Depth4 - fairLimited coverage (only above 40° North). Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progresses
Biomass4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI and LAI
Cloud cover*1 - primaryLimited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR, SWIR, MWIR and TIR channels
Cloud drop effective radius3 - highAt cloud top.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR, SWIR and MWIR channels (for differentiation)
Cloud ice effective radius3 - highAt cloud top.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR, SWIR and MWIR channels (for differentiation)
Cloud optical depth*3 - highLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Cloud top height*2 - very highLimited coverage (only above 40° North)TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) for temperature; and in CO2 band for atmospheric column above cloud top
Cloud top temperature*2 - very highLimited coverage (only above 40° North)TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Cloud type*1 - primaryLimited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR, SWIR, MWIR and TIR channels
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface3 - highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR channels including water vapour and CO2 bands
Earth surface albedo3 - highCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS channel with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progresses
Earth surface short-wave bidirectional reflectance4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS and NIR channels with changing solar incidence angles as daylight progresses
Fire fractional cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.1. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, MWIR and TIR channels. Frequent sampling (From Molniya orbit) enables early detection
Fire radiative power2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.1. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR channels. Frequent sampling enables early detection
Fire temperature2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.1. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR channels. Frequent sampling enables early detection
Land surface temperature3 - highCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR window channels (high sensitivity to high temperature, cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction)
Leaf Area Index (LAI)2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)3 - highCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS and NIR channels
O3 Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)TIR channel(s). Ozone lines in band around 9.7 micrometers. Frequent sampling enables monitoring diurnal variations
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS channels, range undersampled
Sea surface temperature2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR window channels around 3.7 and 11 micrometers (cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction)
Short-wave cloud reflectance4 - fairLimited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Snow cover2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels enabling screening snow from clouds. Frequent sampling improves probability of cloud-free views
Soil moisture at surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North). Index only.VIS, NIR, SWIR, MWIR and TIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness and thermal inertia, that are accurately measured by frequent sampling
Specific humidity3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.. Middle troposphere only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)TIR channels in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR channels around 6.3 micrometers and in the 11 micrometers split window
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA4 - fairSpectral interpolation needed.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in water vapour and CO2 bands around 6.3 and 15 micrometers
Upward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in water vapour and CO2 bands around 6.3 and 15 micrometers
Aerosol volcanic ash4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)TIR channel(s). Frequent sampling enables early detection of ash plumes
Wind (horizontal)*2 - very highCloud or water vapour tracers needed.. Limited coverage (only above 40° North)VIS channel(s) and TIR channels around 6.3 and 11 micrometers, and 13.3 micrometers for more accurate height assignment. Frequent sampling enables inference from cloud or water vapour pathces motion
Sea-ice cover1 - primaryCloud sensitive.VIS, NIR (for contour enhancement), SWIR (for discrimination from clouds), MWIR and TIR channels