Abstract:
The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-2B swath product (AE_Rain) contains instantaneous measurements of rain rate and rain type (convective vs. stratiform), generated from Level-2A brightness temperatures (AE_L2A). The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Profiling algorithm determines rain rate and type over ocean areas, and a Modified GSFC Profiling algorithm over land. Data are stored in HDF-EOS format, and are available from 18 June 2002 to present via FTP.
Quality
Each HDF-EOS file contains core metadata with Quality Assessment (QA) metadata flags that are set by the Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) at the Global Hydrology and Climate Center (GHCC) prior to delivery to NSIDC. A separate metadata file with a .xml file extension is also delivered to NSIDC with the HDF-EOS file, and it contains the same information as the core metadata. Three ... levels of QA are conducted with the AMSR-E Level 2 and 3 products: automatic, operational, and science. If a product does not fail QA, it is ready to be used for higher-level processing, browse generation, active science QA, archive, and distribution. If a granule fails QA, SIPS does not send the granule to NSIDC until it is reprocessed. Level-3 products that fail QA are never delivered to NSIDC (Conway 2002).
Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Branch
Laboratory for Atmospheres
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Code 613
USA
City:
Greenbelt
Province or State:
MD
Postal Code:
20771
Country:
USA
Publications/References
Conway, D. 2002. Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS Quality Assurance Plan. Huntsville, AL Global Hydrology and Climate Center.
Ferraro, R. R. 1997. SSM/I Derived Global Rainfall Estimates for Climatological Applications. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:16,715-16,735.
Ferraro, R. R. and G. F. Marks. 1995. The Development of SSM/I Rain Rate Retrieval Algorithms Using Ground ... Based Radar Measurements. Journal of Atmos. Oceanic Technology 12 755-770.
Grody, N. C. 1991. Classification of Snow Cover and Precipitation Using the Special Sensor/Microwave Imager (SSM/I). Journal of Geophysical Research 96:7423-7435.
Kummerow, C., Y. Hong, W. S. Olson, S. Yang, R. F. Adler, J. McCollum, R. Ferraro, G. Petty, D. B. Shin, and T. T. Wilheit. 2001. The Evolution of the Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) for Rainfall Estimation from Passive Microwave Sensors. Journal of Applied Meteorology 40: 1801-1820.
Kummerow, C., W. Olson, and L. Giglio. 1996. The Evolution of the Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) for Rainfall Estimation from Passive Microwave Sensors. IEEE Transactions on Geosciences and Remote Sensing 34: 1213-1232.
McCollum, J., and R. Ferraro. 2003. Next Generation of NOAA/NESDIS TMI, SSM/I, and AMSR-E Microwave Land Rainfall Algorithms. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 108(D8): art. no. 8382.
McCollum, J. R., A. Gruber, and M. B. Ba. 1999. Discrepancy between gauges and satellite estimates of rainfall in equatorial Africa. Journal Appl. Meteor 41 1065-1080.
Wilheit, T., C. Kummerow, and R. Ferraro. 2003. Rainfall algorithms for AMSR-E. IEEE Transactions on Geosciences and Remote Sensing 41(2): 204-214.
Kummerow, C., and R. Ferraro. 2007. Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document: EOS/AMSR-E Level-2 Rainfall. Fort Collins, Colorado, USA: Colorado State University. (View PDF File)
