Data from the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-1) instrument on the ERS-1 platform operational between 1991 and 1996. The ATSR is an imaging radiometer providing images of the Earth from space. The ERS (Earth Resources Satellite) program was funded by and operated by ESA and was the first main ESA EO data campaign. ATSR-1 was placed on the ERS1 platform and ATSR-2 was on the ERS-2 platform. The ATSR-1 and 2 instruments were followed by the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) on the ENVISAT platform in 2002.

The ATSR-1 instrument has been designed for exceptional sensitivity and stability of calibration, which are achieved through the incorporation of several innovative features in the instrument design. This design has, among other things, enabled the accurate measurement of sea surface temperature to an accuracy of +/- 0.3K. The design of the ATSR instrument incorporates a dual view made possible by the rotating scan mirror. There is a nadir view and then a subsequent along track view. These provide 2 images per scan and allow improved estimate of atmospheric attenuation. This coupled with the inclusion of consistent calibration using on-board black bodies allows for the collection of extremely radiometrically accurate data.

The data are Level1 Ungridded Brightness Temperatures (UBT). The data are in SADIST-2 format and CEDA is the primary archive for this data. The UBT product provides scenes for both nadir and forward views with a swath width of 512km and a ground pixel distance of 1km.

This dataset is superseded by the AATSR Multimission ATSR-1 data set that involved reprocessing this data with improved calibration and cloud masking and is available in a number of reprocessings so consistent with ENVISAT format data.