[M-SD35] Future Missions of Satellite Earth Observation

[MSD35-P09] Toward the continuous monitoring and the further understanding of climate change and global water cycle by the AMSR3 follow-on microwave radiometer

*Hirohiko Masunaga¹, Kazumasa Aonashi², Naoto Ebuchi³, Keiichi Ohara⁴, Misako Kachi⁴, Katsuya Saitoh⁵, Rigen Shimada⁴, Takeshi Tamura⁶, Hidehiko Murata⁷, Kei Yoshimura⁸ (1.Nagoya University, 2.Kyoto University, 3.Hokkaido University, 4.JAXA, 5.JAFIC, 6.NIPR, 7.JMA, 8.The University of Tokyo)

Keywords:AMSR series, global water cycle, climate change monitoring

We propose satellite-borne microwave radiometer observations to: 1) elucidate the mechanisms of global water cycle variability associated with climate change based on long-term, continuous, high-frequency, high-resolution, all-weather observations; 2) monitor climate change and global water cycle variability through long-term monitoring of sea ice concentration, snow depth, sea surface temperature, precipitation, water vapor, soil moisture, etc.; and 3) further expand the operational use of satellite-borne microwave radiometers.
The Japanese microwave radiometers, called the AMSR series, has been among the world's leading sensors in terms of performance and continuity, and is unmatched by any future plans of foreign countries, providing the physical quantities necessary to elucidate the mechanisms of climate change and global water cycle variability. AMSR3, scheduled for launch in FY2024, will enhance AMSR2's capabilities by adding a new high-frequency channels (166/183 GHz) and a low-frequency (10.25 GHz) channel with reduced noise. For the AMSR3 follow-on mission, the possibility of installing submillimeter wave channels and the technical feasibility of further increasing the resolution by increasing the antenna size will be investigated to realize the expansion and continuation of the AMSR series.
Observation data from the current AMSR series have already been incorporated into industrial applications in the fields of meteorology, fisheries, and ship navigation, and are used as the main input for multiple datasets such as meteorological reanalysis data, global sea surface temperature maps, and global precipitation maps, and so there are many requests for missions from industrial users.