INTRODUCTION 



A study is now in progress by industry under a contract with 

 the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) to determine the impact 

 of an improved environmental prediction capability, afforded by a 

 satellite data collection system, upon naval mission effectiveness. 

 As the first step of this study, a particular case of sea surface 

 temperature (SST) measurements obtained from the National Aero- 

 nautics and Space Administration's (NASA) NIMBUS II meteorological 

 satellite has been compared with independent surface data and with 

 SST analysis products to assess the capability of current satellite 

 data for characterization of the true sea surface temperature 

 structure. 



Synoptic measurements of the SST field of a 10 x 20 degree area 

 of the North Atlantic by Airborne Radiation Thermometer (ART) and 

 shipboard bathythermographs (BT's) have been lised to provide ground 

 truth for the interpretation of NIMBUS II High Resolution Infrared 

 Radiometer (HRIR) radiation temperature observations. Ihe composite 

 SST field, derived from HRIR, ART, and BT data, is used as a basis 

 of comparison with SST analysis products to determine data base 

 requirements for adequate characterization of sea surface temperature 

 patterns for the Gulf Stream area for 22 June 1966. 



The SST analysis products were derived from standard ship observ- 

 ations by the Fleet Numerical Weather Central (FNWC) , Monterey, 

 (using a ZOOM analysis program) , the Fleet Weather Central (FWC) , 

 Norfolk, (using a niimerical technique) and by the Anti -Submarine 

 Warfare Environmental Prediction Services (ASWEPS) , NAVOCEANO, 

 (losing a large-scale numerical technique) . The comparison data 

 base was independent data from ASWEPS ART flights, a Gulf Stream 

 tracking crmse conducted by the Environmental Science Services 

 Administration (ESSA) aboard the USCGSS WHITING, and HRIR data from 

 NIMBUS II. 



GULF STREAM GROUND TRUTH DATA 



Gulf Stream ground truth data were provided by ASWEPS ART flights 

 of 21 and 23 June 1966 and the ESSA ship surveys of 15-21 June 1966. 

 The flights were designed to map the sea surface temperature patterns 

 in the Gulf Stream area and to delineate the Gulf Stream boundary. 

 The cruise of the WHITING, 15-21 June 1966, mapped the Gulf Stream 

 boundary by tracking the 15° isotherm at 200-meter depth with BT 

 casts taken at 15-minute intervals, after the technique of Fuglister 

 and Voorhis (1965). Figure 1 depicts the Gulf Stream boundary 

 defined by the ship cruise of 15-21 Jime 1966 and the ASWEPS flight 

 tracks of 21 and 23 June 1966. 



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