MiRS Sensors
AMSU-A Overview
photo: AMSU-A instrument
Satellite(s)
N18, N19, MetopA, MetopB
MiRS Production Status
Currently operational.
The Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) is a 15-channel cross- track, stepped-line scanning, total power microwave radiometer. The instrument has an instantaneous field-of-view of 3.3° at the half-power points providing a nominal spatial resolution at nadir of 48 km (29.8 mi). The antenna provides a cross-track scan, scanning ±48.3° from nadir with a total of 30 Earth fields-of-view per scan line. This instrument completes one scan every 8 seconds.
| Channel Number | Central Freq. (MHz) |
# Bands | Nominal Bandwidth (MHz) |
Nominal Beamwidth (degree) |
Central Frequency Stability (MHz) |
Temperature Sensivity (K) NE∆T |
Calibration Accuracy (K) |
Polarization at nadir |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23800 | 1 | 270 | 3.3 | 10 | 0.3 | 2.0 | V |
| 2 | 31400 | 1 | 180 | 3.3 | 10 | 0.3 | 2.0 | V |
| 3 | 50300 | 1 | 180 | 3.3 | 10 | 0.4 | 1.5 | V |
| 4 | 52800 | 1 | 400 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.25 | 1.5 | V |
| 5 | 53596 ±115 |
2 | 170 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.25 | 1.5 | H |
| 6 | 54400 | 1 | 400 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.25 | 1.5 | H |
| 7 | 54940 | 1 | 400 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.25 | 1.5 | V |
| 8 | 55500 | 1 | 330 | 3.3 | 10 | 0.25 | 1.5 | H |
| 9 | 57290.344 | 1 | 330 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.25 | 1.5 | H |
| 10 | 57290.344 ±217 |
2 | 78 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.5 | H |
| 11 | 57290.344 ±322.2 ±48 |
4 | 36 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.5 | H |
| 12 | 57290.344 ±322.2 ±22 |
4 | 16 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.5 | H |
| 13 | 57290.344 ±322.2 ±10 |
4 | 8 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.80 | 1.5 | H |
| 14 | 57290.344 ±322.2 ±4.5 |
4 | 3 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 1.20 | 1.5 | H |
| 15 | 89000 | 1 | <6000 | 3.3 | 50 | 0.5 | 2.0 | V |
- V: Polarization vector is parallel to scan plane at nadir
- H: Polarization vector is perpendicular to scan plane at nadir
Source: NOAA KLM User's Guide
