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The primary purpose of the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) experiment was to provide all-weather measurements of ocean surface temperature and wind speed, and to obtain integrated liquid water column content and atmospheric water vapor column content for path length and attenuation corrections to the ALT and SASS observations. 

Microwave brightness temperatures were observed with a 10-channel (five-frequency dual polarized) scanning radiometer operating at 0.8-, 1.4-, 1.7-, 2.8-, and 4.6-cm wavelengths (37, 21, 18, 10.7, and 6.6 GHz).

The Prabhakara Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) atmospheric liquid water (ALW) and integrated atmospheric water vapor (IWV) data sets were generated by Dr. Prabhakara Cuddapah at the Goddard Space Flight Center using SMMR antenna temperatures.

Instrument Type

Spectrometers/Radiometers

Instrument Subtype

Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

Specifications

Resolution

Spatial
  • Longitude Resolution: 5 degree
  • Latitude Resolution: 3 degree
  • Horizontal Resolution Range: 500 km - < 1000 km or approximately 5 degrees - < 10 degrees
Spectral

10-channel (five-frequency dual polarized) scanning radiometer operating at 0.8-, 1.4-, 1.7-, 2.8-, and 4.6-cm wavelengths (37, 21, 18, 10.7, and 6.6 GHz)

Temporal
  • Temporal Resolution Range: Monthly - < Annual
  • Temporal Resolution: Monthly

Platforms

Nimbus-7

Launch Date
Oct. 24, 1978
Temporal Extent
Oct. 24, 1978 - Aug. 1, 1994
Altitude
941 km - 954 km
Inclination
99.15

Seasat 1

Launch Date
June 26, 1978
Temporal Extent
July 13 - Oct. 10, 1978
Altitude
800 km
Inclination
108°

Related Data Centers/Projects

ASDC

NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center focuses on Earth science disciplines including radiation budget, clouds, aerosols, and tropospheric composition.

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