ESMR/Nimbus-5 Images of Brightness Temperature on 70 mm Film V001 (ESMRN5IM)

ESMRN5IM is the Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) data product containing daily brightness temperature images from 70-mm photofacsimile film strips. Each frame contains a geographic grid and two groups of three parallel strips of imagery, each containing one-half the orbital data. The spatial coverage is identical in each group, but each strip has a different dynamic range for its gray scale: 100-200 K, 190-270 K, and 250-300 K, respectively. The spatial resolution is 25 x 25 km near nadir, degrading to 160 km cross-track by 45 km down-track at the ends of the scan. The images are saved as JPEG 2000 digital files. About 2 weeks of images are archived into a TAR file. Additional information can be found in "The Nimbus 5 User's Guide."

The primary objectives of the ESMR experiment were: (1) to derive the liquid water content of clouds from brightness temperatures over oceans, (2) to observe differences between sea ice and the open sea over the polar caps, and (3) to test the feasibility of inferring surface composition and soil moisture. To accomplish these objectives, the ESMR was capable of continuous global mapping of the 1.55-cm (19.36 GHz) microwave radiation emitted by the earth/atmosphere system, and could function even in the presence of cloud conditions that block conventional satellite infrared sensors. The ESMR instrument made measurements from Dec. 11, 1972 until May 16, 1977.

This product was previously available from the NSSDC with the identifier ESAD-00192 (old ID 72-097A-04C).

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated August 25, 2026, 10:32 (UTC)
Created June 2, 2025, 02:55 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 95449ca4-a312-475b-969f-ea11a8dba16b
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.5067/H25OYFP9511P
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-08-17T22:16:03Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/GESDISC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash f48a7bc38fb79a885a55c3325884482607b34ee2dab95f79004b066cd1a6cc8b
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -180, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90}]]
temporal 1972-12-11/1973-05-09
theme {"Earth Science"}