AMSR/ADEOS II

The NSIDC DAAC AMSR/ADEOS-II data collection includes passive microwave measurements from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR). Observations cover early 2003 through October 24, 2003. The NSIDC DAAC collection includes Level-1A and Level-2A products containing sensor counts and brightness temperature:

• Sensor counts are raw observations, and users can apply their own corrections to these observations, to suit particular research environments.
• Brightness temperatures are measurements of energy emitted at microwave frequencies, enabling the identification of observed objects’ characteristics and temperature.

AMSR flew on the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) satellite, operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Improving upon the capabilities of earlier passive microwave radiometers, such as the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), AMSR could collect observations in daylight and nighttime conditions, and in any kind of weather with minimal interference from clouds. These remote sensing capabilities are crucial to observing polar regions year-round, including months-long stretches of polar darkness.

The ADEOS-II satellite launched on December 14, 2002. The mission was planned to operate for three to five years, but problems with the satellite's electrical supply ended operations on October 25, 2003.

AMSR-E data are also related to two other data collections derived from other AMSR sensors that have flown aboard polar-orbiting satellites making global observations. The other collections include:

• The AMSR-E data collection comes from the AMSR-E sensor that flew onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite, observing interactions between snow and ice, and Earth's atmosphere and ocean.
• The NSIDC DAAC AMSR-E/AMSR2 Unified Data (AMSR Unified) collection, which incorporates data from AMSR-E and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) sensor. AMSR2 began collecting observations in 2012.

All AMSR sensors were designed to operate in all kinds of weather, in daylight and nighttime conditions. As a result, the AMSR-related data collections at the NSIDC DAAC provide a continual data record of polar observations, uninterrupted by clouds or months of polar darkness, from 2002 to present.

Parameters

Sensor counts, brightness temperature, microwave imagery

Geographic coverage

Global

Related collections

AMSR-E

AMSR Unified

Explore Images from AMSR