EO·Atlas
Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2)
Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-04. Not independently verified by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.
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Seven-frequency conical-scan passive-microwave imaging radiometer on JAXA GCOM-W1 Shizuku (launched 2012-05-18). Developed and provided by JAXA; instrument development and calibration by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (satellite bus by NEC Space Technologies). Offset parabolic reflector 2.0 m diameter, conical scan at 40 rpm, Earth incidence angle 55 deg, nominal swath 1450 km (effective 1620 km). Frequency bands: 6.925, 7.3, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89.0 GHz, V and H polarisation. The 7.3 GHz band is an addition over AMSR-E for radio-frequency interference mitigation. Retrieves sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, precipitation, water vapour, and ocean wind speed. Global coverage >99% every 2 days.
The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) is a seven-frequency conical-scan passive-microwave imaging radiometer developed and provided by JAXA, flying aboard GCOM-W1 Shizuku, which launched on 17 May 2012.[1] Instrument development and on-orbit calibration are credited to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; the satellite bus was built by NEC Space Technologies.[2]
The instrument uses an offset parabolic reflector 2.0 m in diameter, rotating at 40 rpm to achieve a conical scan at a fixed Earth incidence angle of 55 degrees. The nominal swath width is 1450 km (effective swath 1620 km), providing global surface coverage of more than 99% within two days.[1][3]
AMSR2 observes at six primary frequency bands shared with its predecessor AMSR-E: 6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89.0 GHz, each with vertical and horizontal polarisation.[3] A seventh band at 7.3 GHz was added specifically for radio-frequency interference (RFI) discrimination, allowing contaminated data to be identified and mitigated.[1] Spatial footprint at 6.925 GHz is 35 x 62 km, narrowing to 3 x 5 km at 89.0 GHz.[1]
The instrument retrieves a wide set of geophysical variables over ocean and land: sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, atmospheric water vapour, precipitation rate, and ocean wind speed.[1][3][4] These retrievals support operational oceanography, cryosphere monitoring, weather forecasting, and climate science applications.
AMSR2 continues and extends the AMSR-E data record, which ended in October 2011. The addition of the 7.3 GHz RFI band and the larger antenna aperture (2.0 m versus 1.6 m) are key design advances over AMSR-E.[1][4]
Compositional position
- Multi-frequency microwave imaging radiometryvia GCOM-W1 (Shizuku)
- Sea-surface temperature retrievalvia GCOM-W1 (Shizuku)
AMSR2 is a passive-microwave SST-capable radiometer for cloudy/all-weather ocean continuity.
- Satellite precipitation retrieval
Passive-microwave input sensor class used by IMERG-era precipitation retrievals; full IMERG/GMI product row is open.
- [1]AMSR-related Satellite Catalog -- GCOM-W1, JAXA EORCagency doc2026-06-04
- [2]Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2, NASA Earthdataagency doc2026-06-04
- [3]AMSR2 and AMSR-E mission page, Remote Sensing Systemsoperator datasheet2026-06-04