Passive microwave observations of snow, ice, and rain from satellitesObservations of precipitation performed with the five-channel passive Scanning Microwave Spectrometer of Nimbus 6 are discussed. It is shown that, at centimeter wavelengths, the rain emission is generally dominated by absorption processes except in the cores of intense precipitation cells where the wavelength dependence can shift markedly. The observations of rainfall over the ocean exhibit considerable long-range order in both instantaneous and two-week average maps. The observations of snow and ice also reveal interesting systematic behavior associated with the inhomogeneities and loss tangent of the bulk subsurface material. In general, ice is more isotropically organized internally than the accumulated layers of snow in Antarctica and Greenland.
Document ID
19810047948
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Staelin, D. H. (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Rotman, S. R. (MIT Cambridge, Mass., United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1980
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: ICC ''80; International Conference on Communications