AMSR-E Satellite Microwave Brightness Temperature Measurements from 2006

Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer form EOS (AMSR-E) data provides vertically and horizontally polarized brightness temperature measurements at six frequencies: 6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89.0 GHz. The dataset was produced by AMD_KOPRI and contains observations from the year 2006. Spatial resolution of individual measurements varies from 5.4 km at 89.0 GHz to 56 km at 6.9 GHz.

Use Cases

• Retrieve sea ice concentration by analyzing the polarization difference at 6.925 GHz and 36.5 GHz channels.
• Estimate soil moisture levels using the sensitivity of the 10.65 GHz channel to surface wetness.
• Detect precipitation events by identifying scattering signatures in high-frequency 89.0 GHz brightness temperatures.
• Monitor atmospheric water vapor by leveraging the 23.8 GHz channel's absorption characteristics.
• Assimilate multi-frequency brightness temperature observations into numerical weather prediction models.

Strengths

• Provides measurements at six distinct microwave frequencies (6.925 to 89.0 GHz).
• Includes both vertical and horizontal polarization for all twelve channels.
• Calibrated using cosmic background radiation and an on-board warm target.

Limitations

• Spatial resolution is coarse, varying from 56 km to 5.4 km, limiting fine-scale analysis.
• Data is from a single year (2006), offering a limited temporal snapshot.
• Specific row count, file size, and geographic coverage bounds are unknown.

Provenance

Source

AMD_KOPRI via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Collected by the AMSR-E instrument, a twelve-channel passive-microwave radiometer system with a 1.6-meter parabolic reflector scanning at a constant 55-degree Earth incidence angle.

Time Range

2006

Freshness

Data is from 2006; no update frequency specified.

Geography

Global coverage from satellite swath.