Advanced microwave sounding unit
series of microwave radiometers installed on meteorological satellites
The advanced microwave sounding unit (AMSU) is a multi-channel microwave radiometer installed on meteorological satellites. The instrument examines several bands of microwave radiation from the atmosphere to perform atmospheric sounding of temperature and moisture levels.
Products
Level-1 radiance data are calibrated brightness temperatures.
Level-2 geophysical data from AMSU include:
Temperature profile from 3 mbar (45 km) to the surface
Water vapor profiles
Snow and ice coverage
Cloud liquid water
Rain Rate
AMSU data is also used together with infrared radiances from HIRS, AIRS, or IASI to produce blended MW/IR level-2 geophysical products such as:
Temperature profiles
Water vapor profiles
Ozone
Cloud properties
Cloud-cleared IR radiances
Applications
AMSU data is used extensively in weather prediction. Brightness temperatures are processed as quickly as possible and sent to numerical weather prediction (NWP) centers around the world. This data helps keep the assessment of the current state of the atmosphere correct, which in turn helps make predictions more accurate.
Long-term AMSU records are also used in studies of climate.
History
AMSU-A + AMSU-B have flown together on the 3 NOAA KLM satellites: NOAA-15 (NOAA K), launched May 13, 1998; NOAA-16 (NOAA L), launched September 21, 2000; and NOAA-17 (NOAA M), launched June 24, 2002.
For NOAA-18 (NOAA N), launched May 20, 2005, AMSU-B was replaced by a similar instrument, the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS).
Versions of AMSU-A also fly on the NASA Aqua Earth science satellite and the EUMETSAT MetOp series.
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