HISTORICAL 
PERSPECTIVE 
The Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) was the first 
instrument to acquire ocean-color data from space. It was 
one of eight experiments on NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite, 
which was launched in 1978.' The CZCS was designed only 
to verify "proof of concept," and the instrument had a de- 
sign lifetime of about 1 year. However, the CZCS provided 
high-quality imagery from October 1978 until the summer of 
1986 when the instrument stopped sending data. Table 1 
summarizes the characteristics of the CZCS system. Since 
the CZCS is the only instrument of its kind, its loss is of major 
consequence to those interested in research, commercial, 
and operational applications for ocean-color data. 
Table 1. Major Parameters and 
Characteristics of the CZCS 
Band Center Width Phenomenon 
Chlorophyll 
Reference 
Gelbstoffe, sediments 
Chlorophyll 
Surface vegetation 
Surface temperature 
Orbital Altitude: 955 km 
Inclination: 99.2° 
Period: 
Ascending Node: 
IFOV: 
Footprint: 
Scan Angle: 
Swath Width: 
Scan Plane Tilt: 
Digitization: 
Repeat Coverage: 
Revisit Interval: 
Data Rate: 
104.15 min. 
11:52 a.m. (Local mean solar time) 
VNIR, 0.865 x 0.865 mrad 
TIR, 0.927 x 0.88 mrad 
VNIR, 0.826 x 0.826 km 
TIR, 0.885 x 0.840 km 
+ 39.4° 
1600 km 
+ 20° along track 
8 bits 
6 days 
2 days 
800 kbps average 
3.5 Mbps, maximum 
'The Nimbus Program consisted of seven different research satellites that 
surveyed the atmosphere of the Earth, mapped land and water charac- 
teristics, and observed weather and climate patterns. Advanced opera- 
tional satellites now in use for weather and land observations include in- 
struments and systems based on Nimbus designs. During its orbit the 
AVHRR instrument observes a given point on the surface of the Earth 
twice during each 24-hour period, once in daylight and once in darkness. 4 
