Sea surface temperature mapping using a thermal infrared scanner

Abstract

The sea surface temperature (SST) determined by remote sensing technique refers to the skin temperature of the sea surface, while the SST measured by conventional method employing a bucket thermometer gives the temperature of the water in the upper 1 metre water column below the sea surface. A thermal infrared scanner developed by the Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad was operated on board R.V. Gaveshani in April/May 1984 for mapping SST over the eastern Arabian Sea. SST values recorded by this device during the cruise are compared with those determined by conventional bucket thermometer and the results are discussed. The difference between the temperature values from the thermal scanner and those from the bucket thermometer varied from +1 degrees K to -1 degrees K in the present study