The main objective of the microwave radiometer is the measurement of atmospheric humidity as supplementary information for tropospheric path correction of the radar altimeter signal, which is influenced both by the integrated atmospheric water vapour content and by liquid water. In addition, MWR measurement data are useful for the determination of surface emissivity and soil moisture over land, for surface energy budget, investigations to support atmospheric studies, and for ice characterisation.
The MWR instrument on board Envisat is a derivative of the radiometers used on the ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites. It is a dual-channel nadir-pointing Dicke-type radiometer, operating at frequencies of 23.8 GHz and 36.5 GHz.
EO Data Access
