+ Full-Sized Image
The images above show rainfall estimates from the National Space Development Agency of Japan's AMSR-E instrument on Aqua and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) for a rainfall event over the eastern U.S. on June 5, 2002. The AMSR-E and TMI estimates are generated from the same algorithm, although accounting for the differences in the sensor configuration. Comparing gauge-adjusted Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) radar estimates, both sets are nearly unbiased: top panel AMSR mean = 0.31 mm/h, NEXRAD mean = 0.29 mm/h (correlation = 0.85 for 0.5 degree spatial averages); lower panel TMI mean = 0.31 mm/h, NEXRAD mean = 0.28 mm/h (correlation = 0.76). In addition to sampling outside the tropics, the AMSR-E has denser sampling within the swath than the TMI.
Images courtesy of Jeff McCollum of the University of Maryland and Ralph Ferraro of NOAA, both members of the AMSR-E Science Team.
