Satellite Information

These satellite images were obtained from the Danish Centre for Remote Sensing. They are constructed from DMSP - SSM/I raw data from the Marshall Space Flight Center. The SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) is a multichannel microwave radiometer instrument that measures thermal microwave radiation from the Earth's surface at 4 different wavelengths. The radiation is recorded by two US DMSP polar orbiting satellites, the F13 and F14. The swath width of the SSM/I sensor is some 1400 kilometres, however the antenna foot-print on the ground is about 60 kilometres wide at the longest microwavelength (155 cm ~ 19 GHZ) and approximately 15 kilometres at the shortest wavelength (3mm ~ 85 GHz). The longer wavelength penetrates clouds more successfully, but even the shortest wavelength data are far superior to thermal infrared or visible data.

August 12th, 2000.