Observations of Tropical Cyclones With the SSMIS

• Published in: IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing Vol. 46; no. 4; pp. 901 - 912
• Main Authors: Hawkins, J.D., Turk, F.J., Lee, T.F., Richardson, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.04.2008; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Acoustic sensors; Atmosphere measurements; Brightness temperature; Channels; Clouds; Cyclones; hurricane; Image sensors; Inclusions; Infrared; Infrared detectors; Infrared sensors; Layout; Legacy; meteorology; Microwave radiometry; Microwave sensors; Microwaves; Monitoring; Monitors; passive microwave (PMW); remote sensing; satellite applications; satellites; Sensors; Special Sensor Microwave Imager; Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS); Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I); tropical cyclone (TC); Tropical cyclones; typhoon; weather forecasting
• ISSN: 0196-2892; 1558-0644
• DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2008.915753

Passive microwave (PMW) radiometric observations of tropical cyclones (TCs) from the special sensor microwave imager/sounder (SSMIS) continue the legacy monitoring capabilities initiated with the special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I) that began in 1987. The SSMIS has the following several important differences that should be factored into applications when compared to SSM/I data: 1) channel changes from 85 to 91 GHz result in a 2-8-K brightness temperature depression for many TC inner core scenes; 2) the inclusion of bore-sighted 150-GHz data can help in detecting rapidly growing convective cells that are frequently obscured by upper level clouds in visible and infrared data and are often associated with rapid intensification; and 3) the sensor swath increases by 300 km and permits enhanced spatial and temporal coverage of global TCs. All three attributes can be incorporated to maintain and/or enhance the satellite analyst's ability to monitor critical TC structure via these PMW observations.