Aqua/AMSR-E

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) is a modified version of AMSR that flew on ADEOS-II. JAXA provides the instrument for flight on board NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua platform. AMSR-E is indispensable for Aqua's mission, which is dedicated to the observation of climate and hydrology.

AMSR-E is a multifrequency, dual-polarized microwave radiometer that detects faint microwave emissions from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Various geophysical parameters can be retrieved, including water vapor, cloud liquid water, precipitation, sea surface temperature, sea surface wind speed, sea ice concentration, snow water equivalent, and soil moisture. Global and continuous observation is performed with fine spatial resolution by using one of the largest ever microwave radiometer antenna. The long-term geophysical record will play an important role in climate change monitoring and will provide valuable information for understanding the Earth's climate system, including water and energy circulation. Near real-time products will be used to investigate satellite data assimilation into weather forecasting models and to contribute to improved forecasting accuracy.

AMSR aboard ADEOS-II (AMSR-E aboard Aqua) will be placed in a morning (afternoon) orbit. Frequent sampling realized by this combination enables us to observe rapidly changing phenomena as well as to obtain information on the diurnal variation of geophysical parameters.

AMSR-E aboard Aqua is a joint project with NASA as well as an international activity in which scientists and engineers worldwide collaborate in algorithm development and data validation.