Aerial measurement of sea surface temperature in the infrared

Measurements made with an airborne radiation thermometer suffer from the imperfect transparency of the atmosphere and the nonblackness of the sea surface. A correction procedure is proposed in which the surface is alternately viewed normally and at an angle near 60° from the normal; the difference between the two measurements is shown to give the required correction. Field tests indicate that an absolute accuracy of ±0.2°C in estimates of surface temperature can be achieved.