Microwave humidity sounder explained

The Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) is a five-channel passive microwave radiometer, with channels from 89 to 190 GHz. It is very similar in design to the AMSU-B instrument, but some channel frequencies have been altered. It is used to study profiles of atmospheric water vapor and provide improved input data to the cloud-clearing algorithms in the IR and MW sounder suites. Instruments were launched on NOAA's POES satellite series starting with NOAA-18 launched in May 2005 and the European Space Agency's MetOp series starting with MetOp-A launched in October 2006, continuing with MetOp-B launched in September 2012 and Metop-C launched in November 2018. The follow on instrument to MHS is MWS on the Metop-SGA satellites.[1]

The Microwave Humidity Sounder was designed and developed by Astrium EU in Portsmouth, UK, under contract to EUMETSAT.

Instrument characteristics

Table 1: Radiometric characteristics of the MHS

Channel NumberAMSU-B
Channel Number
Frequency
(GHz)
AMSU-B Frequency
(GHz)
Bandwidth
(MHz)
Instrument Sensitivity
NEDT (K)
Polarization
11689.089.0 ± 0.928000.22Vertical
217157.0150 ± 0.928000.34Vertical
318183.311 ± 1.00183.31 ± 1.002 x 5000.51Horizontal
419183.311 ± 3.00183.31 ± 3.002 x 10000.40Horizontal
520190.311183.31 ± 7.0022000.46Vertical
[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Metop series – Future Satellites . . 21 November 2022 . 21 November 2022.
  2. Web site: Instrument: MHS . World Meteorological Organization . 12 August 2024.