Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) Measurements Made by Earth Observation Satellites

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (Par) Measurement Instruments

Measurements > Land > Albedo and reflectance > Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)

Measurement Definition: Flux of downwelling photons of wavelength 0.4-0.7 µm at surface - Physical unit: [ µ einstein ٠ m-2 s-1 ] (1 einstein = 6 ٠ 1023 photons); most frequently used: [ W/m2 ] - Accuracy unit: [ W/m2 ].

Instrument	Status/ Accuracy	Instrument Description	Measurement Technology	Timeline
EPIC	Operational	Diurnal measurements of ozone, sulfur dioxide, UV surface radiation, clouds, aerosols and vegetation.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
HSI-2 (HJ-2A)	Operational	Hyperspectral measurements for environment and disaster management operations.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
MODIS	Operational	Data on biological and physical processes on the surface of the Earth and in the lower atmosphere, and on global dynamics. Surface temperatures of land and ocean, chlorophyll fluorescence, land cover measurements, cloud cover (day and night).	n/a
MSI (Sentinel-2)	Operational	Optical high spatial resolution imagery over land and coastal areas for Copernicus operational services.	n/a
OLCI	Operational	Marine and land services.	n/a
SGLI	Operational +/-15 %	Medium resolution multi-spectral imaging of land, ocean and atmosphere. SGLI-VNR is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from near-UV to NIR and forward or backward polarization observation at red and near infrared wavelengths (Push-broom scanning). SGLI-IRS is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from SWIR to TIR wavelengths (Cross-track scanning).	n/a
SLSTR	Operational	Marine and land services.	n/a
VSC	Operational	High resolution superspectral images (12 spectral bands) for vegetation and landcover applications.	n/a
AMSI	Being developed	Optical high spatial resolution imagery over land and coastal areas for Copernicus operational services.	n/a
AOLCI	Being developed	Visible and near-infrared hyperspectral radiometer supporting a wide range of Marine, Land, Atmosphere and Climate Services. Provides enhanced continutity of ocean colour and land colour measurements from OLCI and enhanced synergy with ASLSTR	n/a
ASLSTR	Being developed	Dual-view conical scanner with channels in the VIS, NIR SWIR TIR, supporting a wide range of Marine, Land, Atmosphere and Climate Services. Provides enhanced continutity of SST and LST measurements from SLSTR and enhanced synergy with AOLCI	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
HIS	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
FLORIS	Approved	Mapping vegetation fluorescence to quantify photosynthetic activity.	n/a
VIS-NIR	Approved	Ocean Colour - Open ocean, coastal & in-land waters.	n/a