468
Year
1978
1978
1987
1987
1990
1991
1991
1992
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1998
2000
2000
Acronyms
ATSR/M
EOS
ERS
DMSP
METOP
MIMR
MSR
SMMR
SSM/I
TMI
TMR
TOPEX
TRMM
K.B. Katsaros
Platform
Sensor
Seasat
SMMR
Nimbus 7
SMMR
MOS-1
MSR
DMSP F8
SSM/I
DMSP FlO
SSM/I
DMSP Fll
SSM/I
ERS-1
ATSR/M
TOPEX/POSEIDON TMR
DMSP F12
SSM/I
ERS-2
ATSR/M
DMSP F13
SSM/I
TRMM
TMI
DMSP F14
SSM/I
ADEOS II
ATSR/M
EOS PM
MIMR
METOP
MIMR
Along Track Scanning Radiometer and Microwave Sounder
Earth Observing System
European Remote Sensing Satellite
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
Meteorological Operational Satellite
Multifrequency Imaging Microwave Radiometer
Microwave Scanning Radiometer
Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer
Special Sensor Microwave/Imager
TRMM Microwave Image
Tropospheric Moisture Radiometer
Topographic Experiment
Tropical Raintall Measuring Mission
Table 17.2: Major microwave radiometers flown in space since 1978 or planned for the near
future.
17.3 Physics of Microwave Remote Sensing
17.3.1 Microwave radiometry
Microwave radiometers are passive instruments responding to emitted, reflected, and scattered
signals from the ocean and the atmosphere. The atmosphere is relatively transparent at microwave frequencies. The interpretation of the signal depends on the microwave frequency being
used and the complexity of the scene viewed by the satellite. These two issues contribute to a
certain ambiguity in interpreting microwave radiometer data. A comprehensive introduction to
the interpretation of atmospheric and sea surface signals in the SSM/I frequency range is provided by Petty (1990, 1994a and b) and Petty and Katsaros (1992 and 1994). For microwave