AMI-SAR

Active Microwave Instrument - SAR mode

Satellites

ERS-1 and ERS-2

Status

Operational – Utilised in the period 1991 to ~ 2011

Mission

High-resolution all-weather multi-purpose imager for ocean, land and ice; wave spectra

Instrument type

C-band SAR, frequency 5.3 GHz, polarisation VV

Scanning technique

Side-looking, 23° off-nadir, swath 100 km. Wave spectra are achieved by processing 5 x 5 km2 30-m resolution SAR imagettes within the SAR swath, 350 km off-track, sampling at 200 or 300 km intervals. The AMI wave mode can be operated at the same time as the AMI-Scat mode

Coverage/cycle

Imagery: global coverage in 9 months average, depending on operation mode (duty cycle 12 %). Wave spectra: global coverage in 1.5 months (duty cycle 70 %)

Resolution

Imagery: 30 m. Wave spectra: 5 km

Resources

Mass: 325.8 kg - Power: 4800 W (peak) - Data rate: 105 Mbps (imagery), 370 kbps (wave mode)