No JavaScript detected
Instrument details
Acronym
SCAMS
Full name
Scanning Microwave Spectrometer
Purpose
Nearly-all-weather temperature sounding
Short description
5-channel MW radiometer covering the 54 GHz band [see detailed characteristics below]
Background
Follow-on of NEMS flown on Nimbus-5, introducing cross-track scanning
Scanning Technique
Cross-track, step-and-dwell, 13 pixels/line, swath 2400 km
Resolution
145 km at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle
Nearly-global twice/day
Mass
23.4 kg
Power
46 W
Data Rate
120 bps
Providing Agency
NASA
Instrument Maturity
Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period:
1975 to 1983-03-29
Last update:
2019-11-14
Detailed characteristics
No.
Central frequency (GHz)
Bandwidth (MHz)
Polarisation
NEΔT
1
22.231
220
V
0.2 K
2
31.650
220
V
0.2 K
3
52.863
220
V
0.6 K
4
53.845
220
V
0.5 K
5
55.445
220
H
0.5 K
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
Instrument classification
Earth observation instrument Passive microwave radiometer Cross-track, special or non-scanning microwave radiometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
Secondary mission objectives Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) Opportunity objectives Freezing level height in clouds Melting layer depth in clouds Show all Show fewer
Tentative 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
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Atmospheric temperature 3 - high Very coarse vertical resolution. A few MW channels in the 54 GHz band. Nearly all-weather sounding
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
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) 3 - high Over sea only. MW channel(s) in the water vapour band around 23 GHz
Instrument: SCAMS