Sea surface temperature and boundary layer fluxes from ERS-1/ATSR data

Abstract

Dual angle and multi-spectral observations from ERS-1 ATSR can be utilized for corrections for sea surface temperature retrieval and to estimate the moisture and temperature structure of the lower boundary layer. The SST has been retrieved to a good level of satisfaction (0.5 K rms) while the surface humidity retrieved have been found to an accuracy of 10%. The feasibility of estimating the surface-air exchanges over the oceans has also been confirmed. Latent heat fluxes(LHF) for a limited region are derived using bulk aerodynamic formula. The comparison between satellite derived and ship derived LHF yields an RMS error of 34 watts m^-2.