Digital Earth Emissivity Information System (DEEIS) - Instruments
Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS (AMSR-E)
The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS (AMSR-E) is a conically scanning passive-microwave radiometer aboard NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua satellite which was launched on May 4th, 2002. Aqua is a polar orbiting satellite, so the AMSR-E has an ascending daytime orbit and a descending nighttime orbit. It senses brightness temperatures from 12 channels and 6 frequencies from 6.9 to 89.0 GHz. The radiation from horizontal and vertical polarization is measured separately at each frequency. AMSR-E rotates about an axis parallel to the local spacecraft vertical at 40 revolutions per minute at an altitute of 705 km. Its measurements are taken over an angular sector of ±61 degrees, resulting in a swath width of 1445 km. The instrument travels 10 km over a period of 1.5 seconds and active scene measurements are taken at intervals of 10 km (except the 89 GHz which has an interval of 5 km). Refer to the image below for AMSR-E's horn configuration
| Channel Frequency (GHz) | Bandwidth (Mhz) | Sensitivity (K) | Mean Spatial Resolution (km) | IFOV (km x km) |
Sampling Rate (km x km) |
Integration Time (msec) |
Main Beam Efficiency (%) | Beamwidth° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.925 | 350 | 0.3 | 56 | 75 x 43 | 10 x 10 | 2.6 | 95.3 | 2.2 |
| 10.65 | 100 | 0.6 | 38 | 51 x 30 | 10 x 10 | 2.6 | 95.0 | 1.4 |
| 18.7 | 200 | 0.6 | 21 | 27 x 16 | 10 x 10 | 2.6 | 96.3 | 0.8 |
| 23.8 | 400 | 0.6 | 24 | 31 x 18 | 10 x 10 | 2.6 | 96.4 | 0.9 |
| 36.5 | 1000 | 0.6 | 12 | 14 x 8 | 10 x 10 | 2.6 | 95.3 | 0.4 |
| 89.0 | 3000 | 1.1 | 5.4 | 6 x 4 | 5 x 5 | 1.3 | 96.0 | 0.18 |
For this information and more on AMSR-E, please go to the AMSR-E website.
