A multispectral method of measuring sea surface temperatures from satellites

A multispectral technique has been developed which independently tests for the presence of clouds before a registered window radiance measurement is accepted as coming from the sea surface and the intervening atmosphere. The spatial resolution of ocean temperature mapping can be the same as that of the radiometer. With the 55 km subsatellite track resolution of the Nimbus 2 MRIR, current boundaries and upwelling areas have been successfully identified. Knowledge of the position of these regions and temperatures within them are important to the detection of areas of high chlorophyll concentrations.