High Resolution AMSR-E 89 GHz Sea Ice Images

High resolution sea ice charts are daily determined by the PHAROS group at IUP from data of the two new passive microwave sensors AMSR and AMSR-E, both developed by the National Space Agency of Japan (NASDA , now JAXA):

NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua Satellite was launched on May 4, 2002. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - (AMSR-E) is a one of the six sensors aboard Aqua.
AMSR is one of the five sensors on NASDA's satellite ADEOS-II launched December 2002, and operational until October 2003.

The instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV) of the various obervation frequencies of the both instruments AMSR and AMSR-E is two to three times finer than that of the corresonding SSM/I channels (the standard passive microwave sensor in orbit since 1987).

AMSR-E sea ice charts

(AMSR-E sea ice charts from inside-iup)

Sea ice concentrations are determined at IUP using the ARTIST Sea Ice algorithm (ASI) from the 89 GHz AMSR-E channels. The AMSR-E results are preliminary because AMSR-E is still in the calibration phase, and because they have been produced with the ASI algorithm fine tuned for the SSM/I frequencies. The algorithm uses the AMSR version of the Bootstrap Algorithm (Comiso, GSFC) to determine low-resolution ice concentrations from the 18 and 36 GHz channels.

Details about the algorithm, weather filters and errors can be found in the diploma thesis of Gunnar Spreen (German, PDF, 6.8 MB, Printable version 25 MB): Meereisfernerkundung mit dem satellitengestützten Mikrowellenradiometer AMSR(-E) - Bestimmung der Eiskonzentration und Eiskante unter Verwendung der 89 GHz-Kanäle.

For a more detailed discussion and comparison with MODIS data click here.

The AMSR(-E) data are distributed

by the NASDA Earth Observation Center (EOC). EOC will distribute both AMSR and AMSR-E data.
by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).