AMSR (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer)

AMSR is a conical-scanning passive microwave radiometer measuring vertically and horizontally polarized brightness temperature for sea-ice concentration, sea-surface temperature, wind speed, water vapor, and snow depth. AMSR-E flew on NASA’s Aqua from 2002 to 2011; AMSR2 launched on JAXA’s GCOM-W1 (Shizuku) on 18 May 2012, observing six bands from 6.9 to 89 GHz. The 89 GHz channels drive the ARTIST Sea Ice algorithm at about 3.1 km grid spacing, the highest-resolution operational passive-microwave ice product. Daily all-weather coverage makes AMSR2 a backbone for Arctic and Antarctic ice charting and POLARIS ice-regime input.