BackForwardInstrument:  MVIRI 

Instrument details
Acronym MVIRI
Full name Meteosat Visible Infra-Red Imager
Type of Instrument 01. Moderate-resolution optical imager
Purpose Multi-purpose imagery and wind derivation by tracking clouds and water vapour features
Short description 3 VIS/TIR channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background Flown on Meteosat First Generation
Scanning Technique Mechanical, spinning satellite, E-W continuous, S-N stepping
Resolution IFOV: 5.0 km for IR channels, 2.5 km for the VIS channel
Coverage / Cycle Full disk every 30 min.  Limited areas in correspondingly shorter time intervals
Mass 65 kg Power 17 W Data Rate 333 kbps

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period: 1978 to ≥2017
Last update: 2012-09-11
Detailed characteristics
Central wavelength Spectral interval SNR or NEΔT @ specified input
0.70 µm 0.50 - 0.90 µm 3.0 @ 1 % albedo
6.40 µm 5.70 - 7.10 µm 1.0 K @ 250 K
11.5 µm 10.5 - 12.5 µm 0.5 K @ 300 K
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Contribution to Space Capabilities

The instrument contributes to the following Capabilities, as identified in the "Vision for the GOS in 2025" and the Implementation Plan for the Evolution of Global Observing Systems:

Tentative Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers.
Variable Relevance for measuring this Variable Operational Limitations Processing maturity
Aerosol volcanic ash (Total column) 3-high Clouds Consolidated methodology
Soil moisture at surface 3-high Clouds Consolidated methodology
Cloud cover 3-high No specific limitation Consolidated methodology
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) 4-fair Clouds Consolidated methodology
Sea-ice cover 4-fair Clouds Consolidated methodology
Wind (horizontal) 4-fair Tracers needed Consolidated methodology
Cloud top temperature 4-fair No specific limitation Consolidated methodology
Cloud top height 4-fair No specific limitation Consolidated methodology
Cloud type 5-marginal No specific limitation Consolidated methodology
Earth surface albedo 5-marginal Clouds Consolidated methodology
Sea surface temperature 5-marginal Clouds Consolidated methodology
Cloud optical depth 5-marginal Cloud not too dense Consolidated methodology
Earth surface short-wave bidirectional reflectance 5-marginal Clouds Heavily model-dependent
Short-wave cloud reflectance 5-marginal No specific limitation Consolidated methodology