AMSU-A
From INVESaTWIKI
AQUA instruments - AMSU-A
The Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A), a 15-channel microwave sounder designed primarily to obtain temperature profiles in the upper atmosphere (especially the stratosphere) and to provide a cloud-filtering capability for tropospheric temperature observations. The first AMSU was launched in May 1998 on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) NOAA 15 satellite. The EOS AMSU-A is part of a closely coupled triplet of instruments that include the AIRS and HSB.
On Aqua, AMSU is integrally coupled with the AIRS instrument. Since 1998, AMSU instruments have also flown on satellites of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This artist concept animation shows the AMSU instrument measuring air temperatures at five levels in the atmosphere, each level indicated by a separate color. [1]
