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Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) |
| TIMS Quick Looks |  Citation page |
Air remote sensing page |
Overview
The TIMS instrument is flown on a DOE Cessna Citation aircraft. Four days of coverage over the course of one week with differing antecedent conditions were provided. Data collection focused on areas with intensive flux station measurements.
The Data
Parameter radiance values units mW/(m^2*sr*um) spatial resolution 12.5m at 5km altitude 4 meters at 1.5km altitude valid range ~5000 - ~15000 TIMS is a simulator for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), an imaging instrument that will fly on EOS AM1, a satellite planned for launch in 1998 as part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). ASTER will be used to obtain detailed maps of surface temperature, which can then be used in studies of the surface energy balance and evapotranspiration.
The TIMS instrument is a six channel aircraft scanner operating in the thermal infrared (8 to 12 /m) region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Channel Bandwidths 1 8.2 - 8.6 um 2 8.6 - 9.0 3 9.0 - 9.4 4 9.4 - 10.2 5 10.2 - 11.2 6 11.2 - 12.2 For calibration, the system is equipped with cold and warm reference sources or black bodies, approximately covering the temperature range of interest. All pixels are assigned a digital count value between 0 and 256 (DN). The reference sources are scanned at the beginning and end of each line.
Other TIMS performance parameters scan rates (selectable) 7.3, 8.7, 12, 25 scans per second aperture 7.5 inches IFOV 2.5 mrad FOV 77% spread over 638 pixels roll correction plus or minus 15 degrees reference sources 2 controlled thermal blackbodies
The Files
Format
File type Contents Format File size in bytes Data set size binary One spectral band
Data array dimensions Width Length 638 pixels # Scanlines (varies with flightline) Pixel size 2 Bytes (16 bits, signed) ASCII Header Top 2 rows of file 4-9MB ~2.5GB Read Software: The data can be read with any standard image processing package , e.g. PCI, ERDAS, IDL etc,. Naming convention
The TIMS file names are of the form
lacol1r1.b6where
- laco = Lake Cobb (the site)
- l1 = line 1 (the flight line number--usually only one line at each site)
- r2= run 2 (usually at a different time)
- b6 = band 6 (the band or channel--may be 1 through 6)
The Science
Plan
Two flight lines covered the El Reno test area and the CART-ARM central facility. They were flown at 16,000 feet (5000 m) above ground, yielding a spatial resolution of about 12 m and a useable swath of 5.6 km (±30 deg). The El Reno flight line covered winter wheat and rangeland. The CART-ARM line went directly over the central site and provided coverage to 3 km on both sides. In addition, a low altitude flight line (1.5 km-4m resolution) was flown over El Reno on July 2.
Flight Schedule Dates Times Target areas Conditions Notes June 29 12:42 - 13:17 Lake Cobb No clouds 3 altitudes 13:30 - 13:48 El Reno No clouds 3 runs 14:25 - 14:43 CART ARM No clouds 2 runs 16:26 - 16:30 CART ARM Scattered clouds 16:47 - 16:52 El Reno No clouds June 30 20:03 - 20:25 CART ARM No clouds 2 runs 20:40 - 21:00 El Reno No clouds 2 runs 21:06 - 21:09 Lake Cobb No clouds July 1 16:34 - 16:39 CART ARM No clouds 16:54 - 17:00 El Reno No clouds 19:57 - 20:02 CART ARM No clouds 20:17 - 20:22 El Reno No clouds July 2 12:02 - 12:07 CART ARM No clouds 12:22 - 12:27 El Reno No clouds 16:01 - 16:07 El Reno No clouds alt=1.5km 16:17 - 16:22 El Reno No clouds 16:45 - 16:52 CART ARM No clouds These flights were integrated with the higher resolution L band flights of the SLFMR on the PRSO aircraft.
Data Access and Contacts
The TIMS data is available on CD ROM. Request copies from DAAC SGP97 Services.
Points of Contact
The principal investigator for the TIMS instrument is
- Thomas Schmugge
- USDA ARS Hydrology Lab
- Beltsville, MD 20705-2350
- Internet: schmugge@hydrolab.arsusda.gov
- For information about or assistance in using DAAC data, contact
- Hydrology Data Support Team
- EOS Distributed Active Archive Center(DAAC)
- Code 610.2
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
- Internet: hydrology-disc@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov
- 301-614-5165 (voice)
- 301-614-5268 (fax)
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Last update:Fri Jan 15 14:23:52 EST 1999 Page Author: Hydrology Data Support Team -- hydrology-disc@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov Web Curator: -- Anthony Drake NASA official: Steven Kempler, DAAC Manager -- Steven.J.Kempler@nasa.gov |