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Instrument: AMSR-E : Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS |
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Associated Platforms ADEOS-II AQUA Spectral/Frequency Information Wavelength Keyword: Microwave Number Channels: 12 Channels Spectral/Frequency Coverage/Range: 0.34 - 4.35 cm / 6.9 - 89.0 GHz Related Data Sets View all records related to this instrument Description The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) is one of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission instruments flown on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua spacecraft, which was launched May 4, 2002. A similiar instrument (AMSR) was flown on the JAXA ADEOS-II spacecraft in December 2002. AMSR-E monitors various atmospheric and surface water processes that influence weather and climate. It provides improved measurements of rain rates and greatly extends the spatial coverage of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, while also measuring water vapor, sea surface winds, sea surface temperature, sea ice, soil moisture, snow cover, and the amount of water in clouds. The AMSR-E is a 14-channel, 8-frequency passive microwave radiometer which measures microwave radiation from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Frequencies of the AMSR-E are 6.9, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89.0 (horizontal and vertical polarization), and 50.3 and 52.8 GHz (vertical polarization only). AMSR has a large antenna (2 meters, one of the largest), and a field of view of 7 km at 89 GHz and 60km at 6.9 GHz. It scans conically at an incidence angle of 55 degrees to achieve a 1600 km swath width. Data are externally calibrated by a cold sky temperature (2.7K) and a high-temperature hot load. Key AMSR-E Facts Heritage: SMMR (on Nimbus-7 and Seasat), SSM/I (on DMSP), AMSR (on ADEOS II) Swath Width: 1445 km Coverage: Global coverage every 1 to 2 days Spatial Resolution: 6 km x 4 km (89.0 GHz), 14 km x 8 km (36.5 GHz), 32 km x 18 km (23.8 GHz), 27 km x 16 km (18.7 GHz), 51 km x 29 km (10.65 GHz), 74 km x 43 km (6.925 GHz) Dimensions: Sensor Unit: 1.95 m x 1.7 m x 2.4 m (deployed); Control Unit: 0.8 m x 1.0 m x 0.6 m Mass: 314 kg Power: 350 W Duty Cycle: 100% View: Forward-looking conical scan Incidence Angle: 55° Instrument IFOV at Nadir: Ranges from 74 km x 43 km for 6.9 GHz to 6 km x 4 km for 89.0 GHz Sampling Interval: 10 km for 6-36 GHz channels, 5 km for the 89 GHz channel Accuracy: 1 K or better Design Life: 3 years Online Resources http://wwwghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/AMSR/ http://aqua.nasa.gov/about/instrument_amsr.php http://aqua.nasa.gov/about/instrument_amsr_team.php http://mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/mirador/collectionlist.pl?keyword=AMSR-E http://sharaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/AMSR/index.html Instrument Logistics Data Rate: 87.4 kbps average, 125 kbps peak Instrument Start Date: 2002-06-18 Instrument Owner: JAPAN/JAXA |
