AMSR-E Satellite Brightness Temperature Measurements from 2003

AMSR-E is a twelve-channel, six-frequency passive-microwave radiometer measuring vertically and horizontally polarized brightness temperatures at frequencies from 6.925 to 89.0 GHz. Spatial resolution varies from 5.4 km to 56 km. The instrument was operated by AMD_KOPRI, with data last updated in December 2011.

Use Cases

• Estimate sea ice concentration by analyzing the polarization difference at 6.925 GHz and 36.5 GHz channels.
• Retrieve soil moisture levels using the lower frequency 6.925 GHz and 10.65 GHz brightness temperature measurements.
• Monitor atmospheric water vapor and cloud liquid water by processing data from the 23.8 GHz and 36.5 GHz channels.
• Study surface temperature and snow cover through the vertically and horizontally polarized measurements at 18.7 GHz and 89.0 GHz.
• Perform cross-sensor calibration for other microwave radiometers using the instrument's observations of cosmic background radiation.

Strengths

• Provides measurements at six distinct microwave frequencies (6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89.0 GHz).
• Delivers dual-polarization (vertical and horizontal) data for all twelve channels.
• Offers a constant Earth incidence angle of 55 degrees for consistent observational geometry.

Limitations

• Data collection ended in 2011, limiting analysis to historical conditions.
• Spatial resolution is coarse, ranging from 56 km at 6.9 GHz to 5.4 km at 89.0 GHz.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and data formats are unknown from the provided description.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata via the AMD_KOPRI organization.

Collection Method

Collected by the AMSR-E instrument's offset parabolic reflector scanning the Earth with a conical surface.

Time Range

Primary dataset year is 2003; operational lifetime likely extends beyond.

Freshness

Data last updated on 2011-12-20; no update frequency specified.

Geography

Global coverage from the satellite's swath.