SNPP ATMS Level 1B: Satellite Microwave Brightness Temperatures

Suomi NPP ATMS Level 1B data provides calibrated brightness temperature measurements from a 22-channel microwave sounder aboard the SNPP satellite. The instrument is a cross-track scanner with channels ranging from 23.8 to 183.31 GHz, producing data arrays of 135 along-track rows and 96 cross-track columns per channel. Data products are constructed on six-minute boundaries and are designed to operate in conjunction with the CrIS infrared sounder as the CrIMSS system.

Use Cases

• Retrieving atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles based on multi-channel microwave brightness temperatures.
• Assessing cloud properties and precipitation based on microwave spectral signatures.
• Validating numerical weather prediction models using global, satellite-derived radiance observations.
• Monitoring long-term climate trends using calibrated, multi-year satellite microwave data.
• Integrating microwave and infrared data for synergistic atmospheric sounding as part of the CrIMSS system.

Strengths

• Provides data from 22 distinct microwave channels covering frequencies from 23.8 to 183.31 GHz.
• Offers a defined spatial sampling grid with 135 rows and 96 columns per scan, with cross-track scan intervals of 0.018 seconds.
• Operates as part of a synergistic sounder suite (CrIMSS) with the CrIS instrument, broadening observable atmospheric conditions.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure details are not provided in the available metadata.
• The exact temporal coverage and dataset size (rows, file size) are unknown.
• License information is inconsistently reported as 'other-license-specified' or 'None' across platforms.

Provenance

Source

GES_DISC (NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center)

Collection Method

Data collected by the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite.

Freshness

Last updated metadata date reported is 2026-04-09 21:53:31.604268 on some platforms.

Geography

Global coverage from the SNPP satellite orbiting at approximately 830 km altitude.