Co-Registered AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, and WMO Ground Data

Co-Registered AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, and WMO Data, Version 1 is a multi-sensor Earth observation dataset combining passive microwave brightness temperatures, active radar backscatter, and in-situ meteorological measurements. It contains spatially and temporally aligned records from over two thousand World Meteorological Organization stations, covering the period from 2002 to 2009. The dataset is designed to support the development and validation of geophysical parameter retrieval algorithms from spaceborne platforms.

Use Cases

• Hypothesis testing for microwave data fusion based on co-registered active and passive sensor records.
• Validating geophysical parameter retrieval models using spatially aligned satellite and ground station data.
• Developing new remote sensing approaches for snow, precipitation, or atmospheric variables using the multi-source time series.

Strengths

• Integrates three distinct data sources (AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, WMO) that are spatially and temporally co-registered.
• Includes ground truth from more than two thousand WMO stations.
• Covers a significant time range of over seven years (2002-2009).

Limitations

• Documentation was provided solely by the Principal Investigators and not reviewed by NSIDC, indicating potential support gaps.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (2009 vs. 2026).
• Specific column names and detailed schema are not provided in the available metadata.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); data from AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, and WMO stations.

Collection Method

Spatially and temporally co-registered satellite and ground-based observations.

Time Range

01 January 2002 through 19 March 2009 (AMSR-E from 19 June 2002).

Freshness

The data collection ended in 2009, though one metadata record shows a 2026 update date.

Geography

Global, based on satellite coverage and WMO station network.