CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
Measurements > Atmosphere >
Radiation budget >
Upwelling (Outgoing) long-wave radiation at Earth surface


Measurement Definition*: Flux of thermal radiation from the Earth’s surface - Physical unit: [ W/m2 ] - Accuracy unit: [ W/m2 ].
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy
Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
AIRS
Atmospheric Infra-red Sounder
Operational
High spectral resolution measurement of temperature and humidity profiles in the atmosphere. Long-wave Earth surface emissivity. Cloud diagnostics. Trace gas profiles. Surface temperatures.n/a
AMI
Advanced Meteorological Imager
Operational
Continuous monitoring capability for the near real-time generation of high-resolution meteorological products and long-term change analysis of land/sea surface temperature and cloud coverage.Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
CERES
Cloud and the Earth's Radiant Energy System
Operational
Long term measurement of the Earth's radiation budget and atmospheric radiation from the top of the atmosphere to the surface; provision of an accurate and self-consistent cloud and radiation database.n/a
Imager (INSAT 3D)
Very High Resolution Radiometer
Operational
Cloud cover, severe storm warnings/monitoring day and night (type, amount, storm features), atmospheric radiance winds, atmospheric stability rainfall.Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
NISTAR
NIST Advanced Radiometer
Operational
Measure the energy emitted and reflected by the Earth.n/a
VIIRS
Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite
Operational
Global observations of land, ocean, and atmosphere parameters: cloud/weather imagery, sea-surface temperature, ocean colour, land surface vegetation indices.Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
HIS
Hyperspectral imaging Spectrometer
Being developed
Pushbroom-type dual-prism Imaging Spectrometer with high radiometric accuracy and medium Signal-to-noise Ratio, operating from UV (320 nm) to SWIR (2400 nm) , based on a single MCT Detector/focal plane. The HIS aims at accurate spectral imaging on land and ocean for climatological background radiometric data acquistion and supporting cross-calibration with other stellites/sensors and on PICS/instrumented sites with highest resolution (50 m)n/a
Libera
Libera
Being developed
5-year design mission. The mission focuses on understanding the flow of energy out of the planet and how it changes over time.n/a
* Description adapted from WMO.