A scanning multichannel microwave radiometer for Nimbus-G and SeaSat-A

• Published in: IEEE journal of oceanic engineering 1977-04, Vol.2 (2), p.172-178
• Main Authors: Gloersen, P., Barath, F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brightness temperature; Microwave radiometry; Ocean temperature; Payloads; Polarization; Sea surface; Space vehicles; Spatial resolution; Stress; Temperature distribution
• ISSN: 0364-9059; 1558-1691
• DOI: 10.1109/JOE.1977.1145331

A scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) has been designed for the Nimbus-G spacecraft and incorporated also into the SeaSat-A payload for the primary purpose of determining sea surface temperatures and wind stress on a nearly all-weather basis. Observations of microwave polarization components will be made at wavelengths of 0.8, 1.4, 1.7, 2.8, and 4.6 cm over a swath 822 km wide below the Nimbus-G and 595 km wide below the SeaSat-A spacecraft. The smallest spatial resolution cell is about 20 km at a wavelength of 0.8 cm, and proportionately larger at the other wavelengths. Using algorithms based on a combination of experimental data and physical models for converting the observed brightness temperatures, the indicated accuracies of the results (excluding conditions of significant rainfall) are within 1 K for sea surface temperature and 2 m/s for surface wind speeds, over a range from 0-50 m/s.