Summary

Description

Version-3b TMI Ocean Products, in November 1997, the TMI radiometer with a 10.7 GHz channel was launched aboard the TRMM satellite.The important feature of microwave retrievals is that SST can be measured through clouds, which are nearly transparent at 10.7 GHz. This is a distinct advantage over the traditional infrared SST observations that require a cloud-free field of view. Ocean areas with persistent cloud coverage can now be viewed on a daily basis. Furthermore, microwave retrievals are not affected by aerosols and are insensitive to atmospheric water vapor. However, the microwave retrievals are sensitive to sea-surface roughness, while the infrared retrievals are not. A primary function of the TRMM SST retrieval algorithm is the removal of surface roughness effects. The microwave and infrared SST retrievals are very complementary and can be combined to obtain a reliable global data set. The algorithm for retrieving SSTs from radiometer data is described in "AMSR Ocean Algorithm"