An automatic multi-spectral infrared sea surface temperature radiometer

Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important parameter in many operational and research activities, ranging from weather forecasting to climate research. A multi-spectral infrared sea surface temperature radiometer is a self-calibrating instrument capable of measuring in situ sea surface temperature to an accuracy of better than 0.1 K. This paper describes an instrument with special design features that double channel radiometer with four spectral band pass of 3µm∼5µm and 8µm∼12µm adapts for autonomous use. The entire instrument infrared optical path is calibrated by viewing two blackbody reference cavities at different temperatures. In this case, the high accuracy of an infrared radiometer is maintained although optical components are moderately contaminated by salt deposition. An newly designed protection shutter that is triggered by a sensitive rain gauge automatically seals the instrument from the external environment in foul weather.