Passive microwave imagery of a tropical storm near 118 GHz thermal and precipitation structure

Author

Schwartz, M.J. ; Barrett, J.W. ; Fieguth, P.W. ; Rosenkranz, P.W. ; Spina, M.S. ; Staelin, D.H.

Author_Institution

Res. Lab. of Electron., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

Volume

4

fYear

1994

fDate

8-12 Aug 1994

Firstpage

2433

Abstract

An imaging microwave radiometer with eight double-sideband channels centered on the 118.75-GHz (1-)oxygen resonance was flown on a NASA ER-2 high altitude aircraft over a tropical cyclone in the Coral Sea, east of Australia. An eyewall of strong convection and a warm core within the eye are clearly visible. Brightness temperatures observed within the eye are approximately 10K warmer than those observed in clear air 100 km away. This warming extends somewhat beyond the eyewall in the highest (most opaque) channel. Two passes three hours apart may reveal a slight weakening of the convective activity. This flight provides the first known calibrated high-resolution 18.75 GHz imagery of a tropical storm. Temperature profiles and cloud-top altitudes may be inferred from the data

Keywords

atmospheric techniques; atmospheric temperature; meteorology; millimetre wave measurement; radiometry; rain; remote sensing; storms; 118 GHz; 118.75 GHz; AD 1993 02 07; Coral Sea; EHF mm wave millimetric radiometry; airborne remote sensing; atmosphere; brightness temperature; double-sideband channels; eyewall; measurement technique; meteorology; microwave image; passive microwave imagery; precipitation structure; radiometry; storm; strong convection; tropical cyclone; tropical storm; warm core; Aircraft; Australia; Brightness temperature; Electromagnetic heating; Microwave imaging; Microwave radiometry; NASA; Optical imaging; Resonance; Tropical cyclones;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1994. IGARSS '94. Surface and Atmospheric Remote Sensing: Technologies, Data Analysis and Interpretation., International

Conference_Location

Pasadena, CA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1497-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.1994.399760

Filename

399760