AVHRR Orbital Segment = NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Files: 1992 - 2000

The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data set is comprised of data collected by the AVHRR sensor and held in the archives of the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science [EROS) Center. Carried aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite series, the AVHRR sensor is a broad-band, 4- or 5- channel scanning radiometer sensing in the visible, near-infared, and thermal infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

EROS houses AVHRR High Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) data and Local Area Coverage (LAC) data. The HRPT data are full resolution image data transmitted to a ground station as they are collected, while LAC data (also full resolution data) are recorded with an onboard tape recorder for subsequent transmission during a station overpass.