CEOS EO HANDBOOK – INSTRUMENT SUMMARY - CHRIS -
Full Name Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer Status No longer operational
Instrument Agencies ESA, UKSA Maturity
Instrument Type Imaging multi-spectral radiometers (vis/IR) Geometry Push-broom scanning
Instrument Technology High resolution optical imager Sampling Imaging
Data Access Open Access Data Format
Measurements and Applications Supports a range of land, ocean and atmospheric applications, including agricultural science, forestry, environmental science, atmospheric science and oceanography.
Resolution Summary 36 m or 18 m depending on wavebands selected.
[Best Resolution: 18m]
Swath Summary 14 km
[Max Swath: 14 km]
Accuracy Summary S/N 200 @ target albedo of 0.2. 12 bits digitisation.
Waveband Summary VIS - NIR: 400 - 1050 nm (63 spectral bands at a spatial resolution of 36 m; or 18 bands at full spatial resolution (18 m))
VIS (~0.40 µm - ~0.75 µm)
NIR (~0.75 µm - ~1.3 µm)
Instrument Measurements
Measurements Overview
CategoryParameter
AerosolsAerosol Extinction / Backscatter (column/profile)
Aerosol absorption optical depth (column/profile)
Albedo and reflectancePhotosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)
Earth surface albedo
Atmospheric Temperature FieldsAtmospheric temperature (LT)
Multi-purpose imagery (land)Land surface imagery
Ocean colour/biologyOcean chlorophyll concentration
Ocean suspended sediment concentration
Color dissolved organic matter (CDOM)
Radiation budgetShort-wave Earth surface bi-directional reflectance
VegetationNormalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Leaf Area Index (LAI)
Vegetation type
Land cover
Soil type
Thematic Links Global Climate Observing System Essential Climate Variables (GCOS ECVs)
ECVDescriptionProduct(s)ECV Inventory 3.0 Record(s)
Aerosols properties click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Albedo click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Land cover click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Leaf Area Index (LAI) click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Ocean Colour click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Temperature (upper-air) click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Instrument Missions
PROBA - Project for On-Board Autonomy (2001 - 2021)