AMSR Land Parameters

Project Summary

This global database contains satellite passive microwave remote sensing based global land parameter retrievals generated from calibrated NASA AMSR-E and JAXA AMSR2 sensor records. The daily land parameter retrievals extend from 2002 and include daily air temperature minima and maxima (ta; ~2 m height), fractional cover of open water on land (fw), vegetation canopy microwave transmittance (tc), surface soil moisture (mv; ≤ 2 cm soil depth) and integrated water vapor content of the intervening atmosphere (V; total column). The global retrievals are derived over land for non-precipitating, non-snow, and non-ice covered conditions. The primary inputs for these retrievals are daily AMSR dual polarized multi-frequency, ascending and descending overpass brightness temperature (Tb) data. The AMSR brightness temperature data were obtained in global 25-km EASE grid format from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The resulting land parameter data are internally consistent and are being used for a range of global ecological and hydrological studies, including vegetation biomass and phenology mapping, soil moisture and surface water and energy balance studies. These data are archived at both NTSG and NSIDC.

Images

LS Parameters

Global Averages

Key Datasets

AMSR Land Parameter Data Record (LPDR) access through NTSG

AMSR LPDR access through NSIDC

View Data Documentation

View Metadata

Selected Publications

Du, J., J.S. Kimball, L.A. Jones, Y. Kim, J. Glassy, and J.D. Watts, 2017. A global satellite environmental data record derived from AMSR-E and AMSR2 microwave earth observations, 2017. Earth System Science Data, 9, 791-808, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-791-2017

Du, J., J.S. Kimball, and L.A. Jones, 2015. Passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture based on dynamic vegetation scattering properties for AMSR-E. IEEE TGARS 54, 1, 597-608.

Du, J., J.S. Kimball, J.C. Shi, L.A. Jones, S.L. Wu, R.J. Sun, and H. Yang, 2014. Intercalibration of satellite passive microwave land observations from AMSR-E and AMSR2 using overlapping FY3B-MWRI sensor measurements. Remote Sensing 6, 8594-8616.

Du, J., J.S. Kimball, and L.A. Jones, 2015. Satellite microwave retrieval of total precipitable water vapor and surface air temperature over land from AMSR2. IEEE TGARS 53(5), 2520-2531.

Watts, J.D., J.S. Kimball, A. Bartsch, and K.C. McDonald, 2014. Surface water inundation in the boreal-Arctic: potential impacts on regional methane emissions. Environmental Research Letters, 9, 075001.

Jones, M.O., J.S. Kimball, K.C. McDonald, and L.A. Jones, 2011. Utilizing satellite passive microwave remote sensing for monitoring global land surface phenology. Remote Sensing of Environment 115, 1102-1114.

Jones, L.A., C.R. Ferguson, J.S. Kimball, K. Zhang, S.K. Chan, K.C. McDonald, E.G. Njoku, and E.F. Wood, 2010. Satellite microwave remote sensing of daily land surface air temperature minima and maxima from AMSR-E. IEEE JSTARS, 3(1), 111-123.

NTSG Personnel

Map Projection: EASE grid

Funding: NASA

Institution: The University of Montana