Atmospheric corrections for airborne radiation thermometers

Airborne sea surface temperature (SST) measurements mede by the infrared technique are becoming more numerous, but they are of variable accuracy. The various errors contributing to the total error in airborne sea surface temperature measurements are described and their magnitudes discussed. The various present methods of applying corrections to these airborne measurements to eliminate errors due to the intervening atmosphere are discussed. A detailed discussion of atmospheric cross section flights using an airborne infrared radiometer making SST measurements between altitudes of 100 to 10,000 ft above the sea while passing over a surface ship which was measuring the actual sea surface temperature is presented. Ways to improve the accuracy of airborne SST measurements are discussed. (Author).