WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument AMSR

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Instrument: AMSR

Instrument details

Acronym	AMSR
Full name	Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer
Purpose	Multi-purpose MW imagery
Short description	Large antenna, 8 frequencies / 16 channels in the range 6.9 to 89 GHz, window and absorption-band channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background	New development
Scanning Technique	Conical: 55° zenith angle; swath: 1600 km - Scan rate: 40 scan/min = 10 km/scan
Resolution	Changing with frequency, consistent with an antenna diameter of 2 m
Coverage / Cycle	Global coverage once/day
Mass	320 kg	Power	400 W	Data Rate	130 kbps

Providing Agency	JAXA
Instrument Maturity	Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period:	2003 to 2003
Last update:	2012-09-05

Detailed characteristics

Central frequency (GHz)	Bandwidth (MHz)	Polarisations	NEΔT	IFOV	Pixel
6.925	350	V, H	0.3 K	40x70 km	50x50 km
10.65	100	V, H	0.7 K	26x46 km	50x50 km
18.7	200	V, H	0.7 K	15x26 km	25x25 km
23.8	400	V, H	0.6 K	12x20 km	25x25 km
36.5	1000	V, H	0.7 K	7.6x13 km	15x15 km
50.2	200	V, H	1.8 K	5.5x9.6 km	10x10 km
53.8	400	V, H	1.6 K	5.2x9.0 km	10x10 km
89.0	3000	V, H	1.2 K	3.1x5.4 km	5x5 km

Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (original name: “Midori”) (JAXA)
- ADEOS-2 (see instrument status) Mar 2003 - Oct 2003

Instrument classification

Earth observation instrument
Passive microwave radiometer
Conical scanning microwave radiometer

WIGOS Subcomponents

Subcomponent 1
MW imagery [in SSO]
MW imager [in SSO]

Mission objectives

Primary mission objectives

Precipitation intensity at surface (liquid or solid)
Sea surface temperature
Sea-ice cover
Wind speed (near surface)

Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.

Search:

Variable	Relevance for measuring this variable	Operational limitations	Explanation
Snow status (wet/dry)	1 - primary	Coarse spatial resolution.	MW channels around 19, 37 and 90 GHz. Higher frequencies less sensitive to emissivity from ground under snow. High resolution closer to the scale of snow fields
Snow water equivalent	1 - primary	Coarse spatial resolution.. Ground stations network needed.	MW channels around 19, 37 and 90 GHz. Higher frequencies less sensitive to emissivity from ground under snow. High resolution closer to the scale of snow fields
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	Use of water vapour band around 23 GHz with dual polarisation. High resolution useful for tomography
Sea-ice cover*	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 7, 10, 19, 37 and 90 GHz, with high spatial resolution for accurate contour detection
Accumulated precipitation	2 - very high	Poor time sampling.. Time sampling to be interpolated by GEO.	MW channels around 10, 19, 23, 37 and 90 GHz and in 54 GHz band, with high spatial resolution
Precipitation intensity at surface (liquid or solid)*	2 - very high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 10, 19, 23, 37 and 90 GHz, and in 54 GHz band (for atmospheric temperature). To cover sea and land, heavy and light precipitation. High spatial resolution consistent with the scale of precipitation
Snow cover	2 - very high	Coarse spatial resolution.	MW channels around 19, 37 and 90 GHz. Higher frequencies less sensitive to emissivity from ground under snow . High resolution closer to the scale of snow fields
Wind speed (near surface)*	2 - very high	Over sea only.	MW channels around 7, 10, 19 and 37 GHz
Atmospheric temperature	3 - high	Very coarse vertical resolution.	54 GHz band. Nearly all-weather sounding
Biomass	3 - high	Index only.. Coarse spatial resolution.	Derived from differential effect of vegetation across MW frequencies around 7, 10 and 19 GHz
Cloud liquid water (CLW)	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 37 and 90 GHz
Cloud liquid water (CLW) total column	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 37 and 90 GHz
Long-wave Earth surface emissivity	3 - high	Long time series needed.	MW channels around 7, 10, 19, 37 and 90 GHz. Emissivity across this MW range inferred by statistical analysis
Sea surface temperature*	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 7 and 10 GHz
Soil moisture at surface	3 - high	Coarse spatial resolution.. Affected by vegetation.	MW channels around 7 and 10 GHz
Freezing level height in clouds	4 - fair	No specific limitation.	MW channels in the 54 GHz band. Inference from the temperature profile
Melting layer depth in clouds	4 - fair	No specific limitation.	MW channels in the 54 GHz band. Inference from the temperature profile
Soil moisture (in the roots region)	4 - fair	Coarse spatial resolution.. Affected by vegetation.	MW channels around 7 GHz. Assimilation process required
Sea-ice type	4 - fair	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 7, 10, 19, 37 and 90 GHz. Type interpreted as age/roughness
Land surface temperature	5 - marginal	Coarse spatial resolution.	MW channels around 7 and 10 GHz

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