Precipitation Signatures in SSMIS Imagery

The launch of DMSP F-16 in October 2003 deployed the first of five planned Special Sensor Microwave Imager Special (SSMIS) passive microwave conically-scanning imagers. Similar to its predecessor SSMI imaging channels between 19-91 GHz, the SSMIS incorporates a wider swath with colocated imaging and sounding capabilites. The SSMIS includes 7 (6) lower (upper) air temperature sounding channels near the 60 GHz oxygen complex, an additional environmental channel at 150 GHz and three 183 GHz mid-to-upper troposphere moisture sounding channels. With its 24 channels, the SSMIS combines the capabilties of the SSMI and the existing Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-B) on a single platform and alleviates the difficulty of aligning scenes from separate conical and cross-track scanning instruments. In this presentation, we will show examples of 150 and 183 GHz SSMIS imagery over mid-to-high latitude precipitation, where fast moving, cold frontal based rain systems and complex land surface features present difficulties to algorithms that utilize the 19-91 GHz channels for precipitation identification and estimation. Comparisons will be shown with near coincident F-14 SSMI data, which follows just behind the F-16 orbit pattern. A similar channel combination will be available from the Conically Scanning Microwave Imager Sounder (CMIS) instrument during the NPOESS era.