MERIS Data Sheet

Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer

MERIS, an ESA sensor developed by France, provides data to meet oceanographic, atmospheric and land observation requirements in a variety of disciplines.

Specifications Spectral range: 400 - 1050 mm, (15 spectral bands)
  Resolution (nadir):0.3 x 0.3 km2 or 1.2 x 1.2 km 2
  Swath width: 1150 km
Mission objectives Ocean:
Monitoring concentrations of chlorophyll, yellow substance and suspended matter. Observation and mapping of sea pollution, coastal erosion and sea ice.
  Atmosphere:
Monitoring cloud distribution, cloud altitude, water vapor column content, aerosols.
  Land:
Monitoring vegetation, inland waters, agriculture; Observing and mapping snow and ice distribution and vegetation stress.
Operational ESA
level 2 products (NRT)
Aerosol type and optical thickness, cloud type and optical thickness, cloud top height, cloud top albedo, water vapour, algal pigment indices, yellow substance, mineralic suspended matter, vegetation index.
Products of well defined
scientific topic
(OFL, D-PAC)
To be defined.
Higher level data products
(S-PAC)
Maps of cloud height and distribution, water vapour distribution and atmospheric optical thickness

The World Data Center for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere is a service of the
Cluster for Applied Remote Sensing at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)