LSU

Earth Scan Laboratory

Coastal Studies Institute • Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences
School of the Coast and Environment • Louisiana State University

Satellites

of the ESL

The Earth Scan Lab captures telemetry from several earth-orbiting satellites. The sensor systems on-board the various spacecraft offer views in many spectral bands, and span spatial resolutions from 250m - 4km per data pixel.
Satellites can be classified as either polar orbiting or geostationary depending on their orbital behavior. Many polar orbiting satellites are in a sun-synchronous orbit. Visit our satellite's schedules hub to view scheduled coverage by satellite.

Oceansat-1 (OCM)



The Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) is carried aboard the Oceansat-1 polar orbiting satellite. This satellite operates in a near-polar sun synchronous orbit. OCM is a solid state camera operating in eight narrow spectral bands. The camera is used to collect data on chlorophyll concentration, detect and monitor phytoplankton blooms and obtain data on atmospheric aerosols and suspended sediments in the water.
More on Oceansat-1

GOES-13 (GVAR)

The GOES-13 (East) satellite sits over the equator at 75 degrees west longitude. It provides high temporal resolution imagery at a spatial resolution of 4km, and is especially useful for atmospheric applications. The ESL has developed GOES SST algorithms combined with SSH data to study Loop Currents in the Gulf of Mexico. The GOES imagery also helps us to track and study hurricanes, tropical storms, and high velocity currents in the Gulf of Mexico. The ESL utilizes GOES-13 imagery to assist the State of Louisiana in emergency response to tropical storms.
More on GOES-13


Terra-1/Aqua-1 (MODIS)

Terra-1/Aqua-1 are part of the EOS (Earth Observing System) fleet of NASA satellites. These spacecraft carry, among others, the MODIS sensor, which provides a wealth of earth observational data at 250m to 1km resolutions.

MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) has many applications, giving spectacular true color images of land and water, as well as SST, ocean color, and numerous atmospheric products.
More on Aqua and Terra

NOAA-nn (AVHRR)

The POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellites) NOAA Series polar orbiters includes a constellation of several satellites. The ESL captures several of these (Spacecraft Status) providing approximately 20 passes per day, and a view of the entire US and Gulf of Mexico.

The AVHRR (Advanced High Resolution Radiometer) provides SST and reflectance imagery used in monitoring river and estuarine processes along the Louisiana coast.
More on the NOAA series


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URL: http://www.esl.lsu.edu/satellites/
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