AMSR-E/Aqua L2A Global Swath Spatially-Resampled Brightness Temperatures, Version 2

Data set id:

AE_L2A

DOI: 10.5067/AMSR-E/AE_L2A.002

Data Citation and Acknowledgment
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set. Such a practice gives credit to data set producers and advances principles of transparency and reproducibility.

Ashcroft, P. & Wentz, F. J. (2003). AMSR-E/Aqua L2A Global Swath Spatially-Resampled Brightness Temperatures. (AE_L2A, Version 2). [Data Set]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/AMSR-E/AE_L2A.002. [describe subset used if applicable]. Date Accessed 12-13-2024.

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There is a more recent version of these data.
Version Summary

For details regarding the processing and algorithm history for all versions of AMSR-E data sets, refer to the AMSR-E Data Versions Web page.

Overview

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of global water and energy cycles. The AMSR-E Level-2A product (AE_L2A) contains brightness temperatures at 6.9 GHz, 10.7 GHz, 18.7 GHz, 23.8 GHz, 36.5 GHz, and 89.0 GHz. Data are resampled to be spatially consistent, and therefore are available at a variety of resolutions that correspond to the footprint sizes of the observations such as 56 km, 38 km, 24 km, 21 km, 12 km, and 5.4 km, respectively. Each swath is packaged with associated geolocation fields. Data are stored in Hierarchical Data Format - Earth Observing System (HDF-EOS) format and are available from 19 June 2002 to 3 October 2011 via FTP.

Parameter(s):

BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATUREMICROWAVE IMAGERY

Platform(s):

AQUA

Sensor(s):

AMSR-E

Data Format(s):

HDF-EOS2

Temporal Coverage:

18 June 2002 to 3 October 2011

Temporal Resolution:

Not Specified

Spatial Resolution:

Not Specified

Spatial Coverage:

N:

89.24

S:

-89.24

E:

180

W:

-180

Blue outlined yellow areas on the map below indicate the spatial coverage for this data set.

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Data Access & Tools

This data set has been retired. There is a more recent version of these data.

Help Articles

General Questions & FAQs

What data subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection services are available for AMSR-E data?

This article describes what customizing services are available for AMSR-E data using Earthdata Search.

Each frequency is looking at a different size footprint. Each frequency has its own feedhorn, and is thus susceptible to independent pointing errors. The most important benefit of resampling (or smoothing) is to create a suite of frequencies that are all looking at the same scene.

A typical AMSR-E swath width consists of approximately 2000 scans, with 243 pixels per scan for the 6.9 GHz to 36.5 GHz channels, and 486 pixels per scan for the 89.0 GHz channel.

How to Articles

Filter and order from a data set web page using the Data Access Tool

Many NSIDC DAAC data sets can be accessed using the NSIDC DAAC's Data Access Tool. This tool provides the ability to search and filter data with spatial and temporal constraints using a map-based interface.Users have the option to

To convert HDF5 files into binary format you will need to use the h5dump utility, which is part of the HDF5 distribution available from the HDF Group. How you install HDF5 depends on your operating system.

Each AE_L2A data file has a time stamp for each scan. The time array is stored as Vdata under the variable name, Time. a) Using the hdp tool, the Time array can be dumped into a text file using the following commands:

Programmatic Data Access Guide

All data from the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) is directly accessible through our HTTPS file system using Wget or curl. This article provides basic command line instructions for accessing data using this method.

This article highlights the NSIDC DAAC data sets available with customization options and outlines a workflow for searching, ordering, and customizing data in NASA Earthdata Search. This approach is ideal for users who want to download data to their local machine.

NASA Worldview is a map interface that allows users to interactively browse imagery, create visualizations, and download the underlying data.

NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) provides up to date, full resolution imagery for selected NSIDC DAAC data sets.