INFRARED RADIATION THERMOMETER - AN EVALUATION 



by Robert C. Barnes, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 

 Gloucester Point, Virginia 



INTRODUCTION 



The infrared radiation thermometer (IRT) has been employed at the Virginia Institute 

 of Marine Science during the past year in a variety of studies using three major techniques: 

 (a) airborne surveys; (b) shipboard surveys; and (c) fixed platform mounting. 



Although all of the work accomplished to date has been considered "experimental," it 

 is felt that a quantity of useful and presumably valid data has been collected and that signi- 

 ficant progress has been made toward arriving at an "operational" method of investigation. 



The following report briefly describes the laboratory IRT programs, methods of 

 operation, instrumentation, specific problems encountered, and an estimate of validity of 

 the IRT technique as applied to thermal measurement of water masses. I 



SUMMARY OF IRT PROGRAMS 



Mid-Alantic Continental Shelf Study (MACONS) 



In MACONS studies, sea-surface temperatures of Atlantic-shelf waters between Cape 

 Henlopen, Delaware, and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, are being surveyed monthly as one 

 phase of a study of ocean currents and weather conditions by the Institute in co-operation 

 with the Navy Weather Research Facility, Norfolk, Virginia. The area involved is approxi- 

 mately 10,000 square miles and extends eastward to the 100-fathom line. The first flight 

 took place in June 1963 and the survey will be continued through September 1964. 



Shelf measurements are obtained with the thermometer sensing head mounted in the 

 camera hatch of a Navy P2V patrol aircraft. Electronic instruments within the aircraft 

 measure the wind velocity and direction in order to estimate the sea-state along the flight 

 line. During the survey the aircraft maintains an altitude of 250 feet. 



Chesapeake Bay Airborne Survey 



Monthly flights of southern Chesapeake Bay waters were instituted in July 1963. 

 This program was initially begun in order to evaluate aerial application of the infrared 

 thermometer and has been largely exploratory to date. Five flights were made in 1963 

 covering Virginia waters of Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries. The October flight 

 was extended to include waters of central Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent River in co- 

 operation with a program of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland. 



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