13th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography

P2.14

Status of AMSR-E land and coastal rainfall algorithms

Jeffrey R. McCollum, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD; and R. Ferraro

After several years of efforts to improve the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) rain algorithm, the algorithm developers designed the initial AMSR-E algorithm to produce similar rainfall rates as from the TMI. However, not all the TMI and AMSR-E channels are calibrated to each other, they have slightly different frequencies and resolutions, there are slight differences in the algorithm details, and the AMSR-E estimates cover all but the polar regions, compared to the tropical-only estimates from TMI. Due to a combination of these factors, the initial AMSR-E rainfall algorithm does not perform as well as the similar TMI rainfall algorithm.

As a result, some AMSR-E algorithms (such as for rainfall rate) are undergoing frequent (3-month) modifications during the first year of products released to the public; the initial release was March 1, 2004. The status and quality of these different product releases are presented so that users will better understand their value and limitations.

Poster Session 2, New and Future Sensors and Applications: Part 2
Monday, 20 September 2004, 3:00 PM-4:30 PM

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