海表温度是气候变化研究的关键参量。ERS／ATSR的设计目标是提供高精精度的海表温度，以满足气候研究的要求。利用美国海洋大气局太平洋海洋环境实验室在热带太平洋的浮标数据和日本气象厅在西北太平洋的浮标数据对1991年至1992年间ESR－1／ATSR数据反演的海表温度进行了印证。在热带太平洋，三通道双观测角算法反演的ATSR海表温度与热带浮标海表温度的平均偏差为－0．22K，标准偏差为0．25K；在西北太平洋，平均偏差为－0．51K，标准偏差为0．61K。结果表明，即使在火山气溶胶的影响下，ATSR海表温度在热带太平洋仍具有较高的精度，可以满足其设计目标。利用大气辐射传输模式LOWTRAN－7，对印证结果进行了分析。

Sea surface temperature（SST）is an important indicator of the climate change. The Along Track Scanning Radiometer（ATSR）onboard the European Space Agency’s first remote sensing satellite（ERS-1）was designed to provide high-accurate SST. ATSR SST during the period of 1991 to 1992 was compared with simultaneous in situ SST measured by NOAA’s Tropical Atmospheric-Ocean（TAO）Array of moored ocean buoys in the tropical Pacific and JMA’s ocean data buoys in the northwest Pacific. The comparisons show that ATSR SST derived from 3.7μm，10.8μm and 12 μm dual view birghtness temperature in the tropical Pacific has a much higher accuracy，with a bias of - 0.22 K and a standard deviation of 0.25 K against in situ SST. While，in the northwest Pacific，the bias is - 0.51 K and the standard deviation is 0.61 K. The results demonstrate that ATSR can measure SST with a very high accuracy in the tropical Pacific under the volcanic aerosol contamination due to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991. The accuracy of ATSR SST in the northwest Pacific needs to be improved. Simulation using LOWTRAN-7 was carried out to analyze influence of aerosols on the retrieval of ATSR SST.