Airborne Infrared Thermal Scanning System for Easy Use on Navy P-3 Aircraft

摘要

This report describes an infrared scanning system which allows almost any Navy P-3 aircraft to be used to obtain maps of sea-surface temperature (SST), and can thus be readily used to provide SST data for many oceanographic experiments. Although a few minor changes need to be made (e.g., adjusting the low-pass filter of the video, and completing the realtime data display software), the device is essentially ready to be put into use. This scanning system will probably be most helpful when operated as part of a larger program, and in areas demanding either frequent coverage, or long flight times. The scale of the phenomena under investigation should probably be at most 50-100 km, and SST should, of course, be indicative of the dynamics of the processes. Such a system would seem to be almost essential to a research program when the SST gradients are sharp, and changing rapidly in time. The sensing device is mounted in a wing pod, and the data are sent optically to recording equipment located in the cabin. The system can be installed on a P-3 in a few hours, and involves no airframe modifications. It has been tested in flight only minor changes are needed to make it fully operational.