About AMSR-2

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) onboard the GCOM-W1 satellite is a remote sensing instrument for measuring weak microwave emission from the surface and the atmosphere of the Earth. From about 700 km above the Earth, AMSR2 provides us highly accurate measurements of the intensity of microwave emission and scattering. The antenna of AMSR2 rotates once per 1.5 seconds and obtains data over a 1450 km swath. This conical scan mechanism enables AMSR2 to acquire a set of daytime and nighttime data with more than 99% coverage of the Earth every 2 days. AMSR2 is a successor to AMSR on Japanese ADEOS-II and AMSR-E on Aqua, a NASA satellite.

AMSR2 Channel Specification and Products

• For sea surface temperature and wind speed, atmospheric contribution was neglected
• For water vapor and cloud liquid, only the contribution by itself is considered (e.g., oxygen absorption is not included).
• Incidence angle is 55 degrees.

GCOM-W / Main Specifications of AMSR2

Scan and Rate:	Conical Scan at 40 rpm
Antenna:	Offset parabola with 2.0m diameter
Swath Width:	1450km
Incidence Angle:	Nominal 55 degrees
Digitization:	12 bits
Dynamic Range:	2.7 - 340K
Polarization:	Vertical and horizontal

AMSR2 Channel Set

Center Frequency (GHz)	Band Width (MHz)	Pol.	Beam Width (degree)	Ground Resolution (km)	Sampling Interval (km)
6.925/7.3	350	V / H	1.8	35 x 62	10
10.65	100		1.2	24 x 42
18.7	200		0.65	14 x 22
23.8	400		0.75	15 x 26
36.5	1000		0.35	7 x 12
89.0	3000		0.15	3 x 5	5

For more information on the AMSR2 sensor, please visit JAXA's GCOM-W1 website