Remote Sensing Systems

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container"> <div class="row-fluid"> <section class="main-content span12"> <a id="main-content"></a> <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><h1 class="page-header">Measurements</h1></td> <td align="right"><a href="/support/publications/TechReports/rss_techreport_mcdc_05262022.pdf"><h4>➢ Description of the Microwave Climate Data Center (MCDC)</h4></a></td> </tr> </table> <article id="node-3866" class="node node-page clearfix" about="/measurements" typeof="foaf:Document"> <header> <span property="dc:title" content="Measurements" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span> </header> <footer> </footer> </article>  <section id="block-views-parameters-list-block-2" class="block block-views"> <h2 class="block-title"><a id="brightness-temperature"></a>Brightness Temperature</h2> <div class="view view-parameters-list view-id-parameters_list view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-5aacf28e12cab6e6c427ad4ce10a775f"> <div class="view-content"> <table class="views-table cols-2 table" > <thead> <tr> <th class="views-field views-field-nothing" scope="col"> Measurement </th> <th class="views-field views-field-body" scope="col"> Description </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr class="odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/brightness-temperature">Brightness Temperature</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>The brightness temperature is a measurement of the radiance of the microwave radiation traveling upward from the top of the atmosphere to the satellite, expressed in units of the temperature of an equivalent black body. The brightness temperature (or T<sub>B</sub> ) is the fundamental parameter measured by passive microwave radiometers. The brightness temperatures measured at different microwave frequencies are used at Remote Sensing Systems to derive wind, vapor, cloud, rain, and SST products. </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> </section>  <section id="block-views-parameters-list-block-1" class="block block-views"> <h2 class="block-title"><a id="geophysical-retrievals"></a>Geophysical Retrievals</h2> <div class="view view-parameters-list view-id-parameters_list view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-3396f8dfae8521d49453ae96065a19b8"> <div class="view-content"> <table class="views-table cols-2 table" > <thead> <tr> <th class="views-field views-field-nothing" scope="col"> Measurement </th> <th class="views-field views-field-body" scope="col"> Description </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr class="odd views-row-first"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/atmospheric-water-vapor">Atmospheric Water Vapor</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>Total column water vapor (or Total Precipitable Water) is a measure of the total gaseous water contained in a vertical column of atmosphere. This quantity can be measured using microwave radiometers over the world's oceans. Water vapor is measured in linear units, millimeters (mm), the depth the water would be if condensed to liquid form. Using the density of water, we can also report vapor as kg/m2 = 1 mm, or g/cm2 = 10 mm.</p> </td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/ccmp">CCMP</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>The Version-2 Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) wind product consists of four-times-daily, 6-hourly gridded analyses of surface vector winds produced using satellite, in situ and model data.</p> </td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/cloud-liquid-water-content">Cloud Liquid Water Content</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>Cloud Liquid Water Content is a measure of the total liquid water contained in a vertical column of atmosphere, and does not include solid water (snow or ice). Decades of satellite microwave radiometer cloud data are available for study. Units of measurement are mm, the depth of the liquid water in the vertical column. Using the density of water, we can also report cloud liquid water as kg/m2 = 1 mm, or g/cm2 = 10 mm</p> </td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/rain-rate">Rain Rate</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>Precipitation is a key hydrological and climate variable that includes both liquid (rain) and solid (snow and ice) forms. RSS provides estimates of the surface rain rate over the global oceans derived from microwave radiometers. Rain is highly variable in both time and space. Units are mm/hr.</p> </td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/sea-surface-temperature">Sea Surface Temperature</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>Sea Surface Temperature (SST) can be measured by microwave radiometers with lower frequency channels (TMI, AMSR-E and WindSat). SST data are available from 1997 onward. Using a diurnal model, our Optimal Interpolated SSTs are corrected to represent a foundation temperature, or a diurnally corrected surface layer temperature.</p> </td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/upper-air-temperature">Upper Air Temperature</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>The temperature of the air well above Earth's surface (the upper air) is a fundamental climate variable. RSS merges together data from the MSU and AMSU microwave sounders to provide a continuous record of upper air temperature beginning in late 1978 and continuing to the present. Measurements made at different microwave frequencies or channels are sensitive to the temperature of different atmosheric layers. RSS currently provides 10 different data products based on microwave sounding measurements.</p> </td> </tr> <tr class="odd views-row-last"> <td class="views-field views-field-nothing" > <a href="/measurements/wind">Wind</a> </td> <td class="views-field views-field-body" > <p>Ocean surface wind can be measured by microwave radiometers, as well as scatterometers. The two instruments operate differently and are therefore a good check of value agreement. 10 meter ocean wind speeds are measured by the radiometers, and wind vectors (speed and direction) are measured by WindSat (a polarimetric radiometer) and all scatterometers. Units of measurement are meters/second (m/s).</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> </section>  </section> </div> </div> <footer class="site-footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="row-fluid"> <div class="span4"> <div class="region region-footer-first"> <section id="block-menu-menu-footer-menu" class="block block-menu"> <h2 class="block-title"><a id="get-support"></a>Get Support</h2> <ul class="menu nav"> <li class="first leaf"><a href="/support/quick-start">Getting Started Guide</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/support/data-shortcut/">Data Shortcut</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/support/faq/">FAQs</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/support/crossing-times">Crossing Times</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/support/terms-of-use">Terms of Data Use</a></li> <li class="last leaf"><a href="/about/contact">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> </section>  </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="region region-footer-second"> <section id="block-menu-menu-about-us" class="block block-menu"> <h2 class="block-title"><a id="who-we-are"></a>Who We Are</h2> <ul class="menu nav"><li class="first leaf"><a href="/about/who-we-are" title="">About Us</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/about/profiles" title="">Our Team</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/support/publications">Publications</a></li> <li class="last leaf"><a href="/about/careers" title="">Careers</a></li> </ul> </section>  </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="region region-footer-third"> <section id="block-block-2" class="block block-block"> <h2 class="block-title"><a id="about-rss"></a>About RSS</h2> <p>Remote Sensing Systems is a world leader in processing and analyzing microwave data collected by satellite microwave sensors. 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