TIROS-4 ORR: Earth Radiation Budget Measurements

February 1962 to approximately July 1962, the TIROS-4 satellite collected longwave radiation values in Langleys/min using a Low-Resolution Omnidirectional Radiometer. The data, recovered from original IBM 7094 magnetic tapes, were designed to measure solar energy absorbed, reflected, and emitted by Earth to calculate its radiation budget. This Level 1 radiance product represents a historical record from an early satellite instrument.

Use Cases

• Calculating Earth's radiation budget based on measured longwave radiation values.
• Analyzing historical atmospheric energy flows based on bolometer sensor data.
• Studying the technological evolution of satellite radiometry by comparing data from TIROS-3, TIROS-4, and TIROS-7.
• Recovering and preserving early digital scientific records from IBM 7094 machine tapes.

Strengths

• Data originates from a specific, historically significant satellite mission launched on February 8, 1962.
• The dataset has a defined scientific purpose: calculating Earth's radiation budget from measured solar energy.
• It is preserved in its original recovered text format from magnetic tapes, indicating archival care.

Limitations

• The exact number of data rows and file size are unknown across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' metadata, with dates ranging from 1962 to 2026.
• Column names and specific data structure are not provided, limiting immediate analysis.

Provenance

Source

Verner E. Suomi, University of Wisconsin (Principal Investigator); data archived by GES DISC.

Collection Method

Data originally written on IBM 7094 machines and recovered from Omnidirectional Radiometer Radiance (ORR) magnetic tapes.

Time Range

Approximately five months following the February 8, 1962 launch.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:45:08.054139

Geography

Global, from the TIROS-4 satellite's orbit.