THIRN4L1CH115: Nimbus-4 Satellite 11.5-Micron Infrared Radiance Data

Nimbus-4 Temperature-Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) Level 1 data containing radiances expressed as brightness temperature in the 10.5-12.5 micron channel. The data were recovered from original magnetic tapes and are archived in a proprietary IBM 36-bit binary format. The data cover the period from April 13, 1970, through April 1, 1971.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical cloud top or surface temperatures based on the 11.5-micron channel data.
• Study day and night atmospheric thermal patterns based on the 8 km ground resolution mentioned.
• Compare atmospheric moisture and thermal data with other Nimbus satellite instrument records.

Strengths

• Data originates from a specific, well-documented satellite mission (Nimbus-4, launched December 11, 1972).
• Covers a defined temporal range from April 13, 1970, to April 1, 1971.
• Provides high-resolution (8 km sub-point) infrared measurements for both day and night.

Limitations

• Data is archived in a proprietary IBM 36-bit binary format, which may require specialized tools for reading.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center.

Collection Method

Recovered from original magnetic tapes (Nimbus Meteorological Radiation Tapes) written on IBM 360 machines.

Time Range

April 13, 1970 (day of year 103) through April 1, 1971 (day of year 91).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 05 19:59:23.905293; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from the Nimbus-4 satellite orbit.