AMSU-B

Advanced Microwave Sounder Unit - B

Satellites

NOAA 15 to 17

Status

Operational – Utilised in the period: 1998 to ~ 2008

Mission

Humidity sounding in nearly-all-weather conditions. Also precipitation

Instrument type

5-channel MW radiometer

Scanning technique

Cross-track: 90 steps of 16 km s.s.p., swath 2250 km - Along-track: one 16-km line every 8/3 s

Coverage/cycle

Near-global coverage twice/day

Resolution (s.s.p.)

16 km IFOV

Resources

Mass: 50 kg - Power: 90 W - Data rate: 60 kbps

Central frequency (GHz)

Bandwidth (MHz)

Polarisation

Radiometric accuracy (NEΔT)

89.0

1000

V

0.37 K

150.0

1000

V

0.84 K

183.31 ± 7.0

2000

V

0.60 K

183.31 ± 3.0

1000

V

0.70 K

183.31 ± 1.0

500

V

1.06 K