WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument SSM/T-2

No JavaScript detected
Usage of this Website will be severly limited without JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your Browser.

Instrument: SSM/T-2

Instrument details

Acronym	SSM/T-2
Full name	Special Sensor Microwave - Humidity
Purpose	Humidity sounding in nearly-all-weather conditions
Short description	5 channels MW radiometer covering the 183 GHz band [see detailed characteristics below]
Background	New development
Scanning Technique	Cross-track: 28 steps of 42 km ssp, swath 1500 km - Along-track: one 48-km line each 8 s
Resolution	48 km st s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle	Global coverage once/day
Mass	13.6 kg	Power	26 W	Data Rate	320 bps

Providing Agency	DoD
Instrument Maturity	Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period:	1992 to 2015
Last update:	2022-07-25

Detailed characteristics

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

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program - Block 5D-2 (DoD)
- DMSP-F11 (see instrument status) Feb 1992 - Aug 2000
- DMSP-F12 (see instrument status) Nov 1994 - Oct 2008
- DMSP-F14 (see instrument status) Jul 1997 - 2015
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program - Block 5D-3 (DoD)
- DMSP-F15 (see instrument status) Mar 2000 - 2015

Instrument classification

WIGOS Subcomponents

Mission objectives

Primary mission objectives

Evaluation of Measurements

Variable	Relevance for measuring this variable	Operational limitations	Explanation
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)	2 - very high	No specific limitation.	MW channels in the water vapour band around 183 GHz
Cloud ice	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 90 GHz, and in 183 GHz band
Cloud ice Total Column	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 90 GHz, and in 183 GHz band
Cloud ice effective radius	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 90 GHz, and in 183 GHz band
Cloud liquid water (CLW)	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 90 GHz, and in 183 GHz band
Cloud liquid water (CLW) total column	3 - high	No specific limitation.	MW channels around 90 GHz, and in 183 GHz band
Specific humidity*	3 - high	Coarse vertical resolution.	MW channels in the 183 GHz band
Cloud drop effective radius	5 - marginal	Highly indirect.	MW channels around 90 GHz, and in 183 GHz band
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface	5 - marginal	Highly indirect.	MW channels in 183 GHz band to account for downward cloud radiation
Precipitation intensity at surface (liquid or solid)	5 - marginal	No specific limitation.	MW channels in the 183 GHz band. Suitable for solid precipitation over sea and land, Insensitive to surface emissivity
Upward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface	5 - marginal	Highly indirect.	MW channels is the 183 GHz band to infer the impact of clouds on the upward LW radiation