THIRN6L1CH115: Nimbus-6 Satellite Infrared Brightness Temperatures

Nimbus-6 satellite's Temperature-Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) Level 1 data contains radiances expressed as equivalent brightness temperatures measured in the 10.5-12.5 micron channel. The instrument provided day and night cloud-top or surface temperature measurements with an 8 km nadir resolution. Data are archived in their original IBM 36-bit proprietary binary format, recovered from historical magnetic tapes.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical cloud-top temperatures based on the 11.5 micron channel radiances.
• Studying long-term surface temperature patterns from satellite-derived brightness temperatures.
• Comparing atmospheric water vapor content from the 6.7 micron channel with modern sensor data.
• Tracking the location of historical jet streams and frontal systems from infrared data.

Strengths

• Provides calibrated brightness temperature data from a historically significant satellite launched on June 18, 1975.
• Offers high-resolution infrared measurements with a nadir resolution of 8 km for the primary channel.
• Represents a continuous record from the Nimbus satellite series, with provenance from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Limitations

• Data format is an archaic IBM 36-bit proprietary binary (TAP file), requiring specialized tools for access and processing.
• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unknown across all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (1977 vs. 2026), creating uncertainty about data currency.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Principal Investigator Andrew W. McCulloch.

Collection Method

Data were originally written on IBM 360 machines and recovered from Nimbus Meteorological Radiation Tapes (NMRT-THIR).

Time Range

Coverage begins after the Nimbus-6 satellite launch on June 18, 1975; end date is unspecified.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:45:27.386618

Geography

Global coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit.