BackForwardInstrument:  MSMR 

Instrument details
Acronym MSMR
Full name Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer
Purpose Sea-surface temperature, wind on sea-surface, total-column water vapour over the sea
Short description

4 frequencies / 8 channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background

New development
Scanning Technique

Conical: 55° zenith angle; swath: 1360 km - Scan rate: 11.16 scan/min = 36 km/scan
Resolution Changing with frequency, consistent with an antenna diameter of 80 cm
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage once/day
Mass Power Data Rate 6.4 kbps

 

Providing Agency ISRO
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1999 to 2010
Last update: 2025-04-14
Detailed characteristics
Channel No. Central frequency Bandwidth Polarisations NEΔT IFOV Pixel
1 6.6 GHz 350 MHz V, H < 1.0 K 68 x 105 km 50 x 36 km
2 10.65 GHz 100 MHz V, H < 1.0 K 43 x 66 km 50 x 36 km
3 18.0 GHz 200 MHz V, H < 1.0 K 26 x 40 km 25 x 36 km
4 21.0 GHz 400 MHz V, H < 1.0 K 22 x 34 km 25 x 36 km
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive microwave radiometer
  • Conical scanning microwave radiometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • MW imagery [in SSO]
  • MW imager [in SSO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Sea surface temperature
  • Wind speed (near surface)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Biomass3 - highIndex only.. Coarse spatial resolution.Derived from differential effect of vegetation across MW frequencies around 7, 10 and 19 GHz
Land surface temperature5 - marginalCoarse spatial resolution.MW channels around 7 and 10 GHz
Long-wave Earth surface emissivity3 - highLong time series needed.MW channels around 7, 10 and 19 GHz. Emissivity across this MW range inferred by statistical analysis
Sea surface temperature*3 - highNo specific limitation.MW channels around 7 and 10 GHz
Soil moisture (in the roots region)4 - fairCoarse spatial resolution.. Affected by vegetation.MW channels around 7 GHz. Assimilation process required
Soil moisture at surface3 - highCoarse spatial resolution.. Affected by vegetation.MW channels around 7 and 10 GHz
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)3 - highOver sea only.MW channel(s) in the water vapour band around 23 GHz
Wind speed (near surface)*4 - fairOver sea only.MW channels around 7, 10 and 19 GHz