Microwave sounding unit

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The microwave sounding unit (MSU) was the predecessor to the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU).

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The MSU was first launched aboard the TIROS-N satellite in late 1978 and provided global coverage (from Pole to Pole). It carries a 4-channel microwave radiometer, operating between 50 and 60  GHz. Spatial resolution on the ground was 2.5 deg in longitude and latitude (about 250 km circle). There were 9 different MSUs launched; the most recent one on NOAA-14. They provided measurements of the temperature of the troposphere and lower stratosphere until 1998, when the first AMSU was deployed. AMSU provides many more channels and finer resolution (about 50 km).

Table 1 lists some characteristics of the MSU. [1] [2] The radiometer's antenna scans underneath the satellite through nadir, and its polarization vector rotates with the scan angle. [2] In the table, "vertical polarization near nadir" means that the E-vector is parallel to the scan direction at nadir, and "horizontal polarization" means the orthogonal direction.

Table 1 Radiometric characteristics of the Microwave Sounding Unit

Channel NumberFrequency (GHz)
Polarization near nadir
Radiometric Resolution NEDT (K)
Primary Function
150.30vertical0.3Surface Emissivity, Precipitation
253.74horizontal0.3Mid-troposphere Temperature
354.96vertical0.3Temperature Near Tropopause
457.95horizontal0.3Lower-stratosphere Temperature

Applications

The MSU was used by NOAA for meteorological analyses in combination with two infrared instruments, [3] and sometimes alone, for post-analysis of weather events [4] and other atmospheric phenomena such as waves. [5] [6] MSU and AMSU together provide a long data record and have been used for tracking atmospheric temperature trends (see: Microwave Sounding Unit temperature measurements).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA-17</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA-16</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA-18</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA-15</span>

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NOAA-13, also known as NOAA-I before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-I continued the operational, polar orbiting, meteorological satellite series operated by the National Environmental Satellite System (NESS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-I continued the series (fifth) of Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) spacecraft begun with the launch of NOAA-8 (NOAA-E) in 1983. NOAA-I was in an afternoon equator-crossing orbit and was intended to replace the NOAA-11 (NOAA-H) as the prime afternoon (14:00) spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA-7</span>

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NOAA B was an American operational weather satellite for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite System (NOESS) and for the support of the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) during 1978-1984. The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the atmosphere of Earth, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microwave Sounding Unit temperature measurements</span>

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The UAH satellite temperature dataset, developed at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, infers the temperature of various atmospheric layers from satellite measurements of the oxygen radiance in the microwave band, using Microwave Sounding Unit temperature measurements.

NOAA-8, known as NOAA-E before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). It was first of the Advanced TIROS-N series of satellites. The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the atmosphere of Earth, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA-9</span> American weather satellite

NOAA-9, known as NOAA-F before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). It was the second of the Advanced TIROS-N series of satellites. The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the atmosphere of Earth, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment.

NOAA-10, known as NOAA-G before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). It was the third of the Advanced TIROS-N series of satellites. The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the atmosphere of Earth, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment.

NOAA-11, known as NOAA-H before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite System (NOESS) and for support of the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) during 1978–1984. It was the fourth of the Advanced TIROS-N series of satellites. The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the atmosphere of Earth, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment.

NOAA-12, also known as NOAA-D before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an operational meteorological satellite for use in the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the atmosphere of Earth, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment.

NOAA-14, also known as NOAA-J before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-14 continued the third-generation operational, Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) series operated by the National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-14 continued the series of Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) spacecraft begun with the launch of NOAA-8 (NOAA-E) in 1983.

The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) is a 22-channel scanning microwave radiometer for observation of the Earth's atmosphere and surface. It is the successor to the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on NOAA weather satellites. ATMS units have been flown on the Suomi NPP and on the Joint Polar Satellite System.

References

  1. Mo, Tsan (1995), "A study of the Microwave Sounding Unit on the NOAA-12 satellite", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 33 (5): 1141–52, Bibcode:1995ITGRS..33.1141M, doi:10.1109/36.469478
  2. 1 2 Kleespies, Thomas J.; et al. (2007), "Evaluation of scan asymmetry in the NOAA-14 Microwave Sounding Unit by a pitch maneuver", IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 4 (4): 621–3, Bibcode:2007IGRSL...4..621K, doi:10.1109/LGRS.2007.903394, S2CID   206432757
  3. Smith, W. L.; Woolf, H. M.; Hayden, C. M.; Wark, D. Q.; McMillin, L. M. (1979), "The Tiros-N Operational Vertical Sounder", Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 60 (10): 1177–87, doi: 10.1175/1520-0477-60.10.1177
  4. Grody, Norman C. (1983), "Severe storm observations using the Microwave Sounding Unit", Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology, 22 (4): 609–25, Bibcode:1983JApMe..22..609G, doi: 10.1175/1520-0450(1983)022<0609:SSOUTM>2.0.CO;2
  5. Stanford, John L.; Short, David A. (1981), "Evidence for wavelike anomalies with short meridional and large zonal scales in the lower stratospheric temperature field", Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 38 (5): 1083–91, Bibcode:1981JAtS...38.1083S, doi: 10.1175/1520-0469(1981)038<1083:EFWAWS>2.0.CO;2
  6. Martin, Russell L.; Stanford, John L. (1986), "Zonal wave number variance spectra of stratospheric microwave brightness temperatures", Journal of Geophysical Research, 91 (D12): 13, 195–200, Bibcode:1986JGR....9113195M, doi:10.1029/JD091iD12p13195

See also