Infrared remote sensing of sea surface temperature

The surface temperature TS of the ocean and solid earth can be derived from the radiance data measured in the 3.7 micron transparent region between 2700 and 2500 per cm as well as from the 11 micron water vapor continuum between 960 and 775 per cm. The effects on the accuracy of the recovered values of TS of surface emissivity, reflection of solar radiation and variations in the concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere are different in the two bands. In this paper, the accuracy of the surface temperature derived from each of these two transparent spectral regions is discussed. The possibility of determining the difference between the air temperature at the surface and the true skin surface temperature is also considered.