Nimbus-6 HIRS Brightness Temperature Film Images from 1975-1976

HIRS/Nimbus-6 Images of Brightness Temperature on 70 mm Film V001 contains black and white infrared images from the Nimbus-6 satellite's High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder. The dataset includes images from August 17, 1975, through March 4, 1976, with each image covering one orbit or 125 minutes of data. The instrument was a multi-channel filter radiometer operated by the NOAA National Environmental Satellite Service under Principal Investigator W. L. Smith.

Use Cases

• Analyze the 18-step gray scale in each image to convert pixel values to historical brightness temperatures for atmospheric studies.
• Use the encoded time and geographic information in the image center to geolocate and temporally align infrared radiance measurements.
• Compare radiance data across the 10 channels (swaths) per orbit to study spectral features in different absorption bands like CO2 and water vapor.
• Process the full vertical scale (F) and partial vertical scale (P) image modes to reconstruct complete orbital data for cross-track scanning analysis.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific 7-month period from August 1975 to March 1976, providing a continuous temporal snapshot.
• Each image contains 10 channels (swaths) of data per orbit, offering multi-spectral information.
• Instrument provided cross-track scanning with 21 scans on each side of the subtrack point.

Limitations

• Data is stored as analog images on 70 mm film, requiring digitization and specialized conversion using provided gray scale tables for quantitative use.
• Temporal coverage is limited to less than one year, restricting analysis of seasonal or long-term trends.
• Spatial resolution is approximately 30 km x 55 km at nadir, which is coarse for modern applications.

Provenance

Source

GES DISC, originally archived at NASA NSSDC under entry ID ESAD-00094.

Collection Method

Data collected by the Nimbus-6 High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS), a multi-channel filter radiometer, and recorded on 70 mm film strips.

Time Range

August 17, 1975, through March 4, 1976.

Freshness

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Geography

Global coverage from the Nimbus-6 satellite orbit.