[This landing page follows the DataCite Metadata Scheme (doi:10.5438/0010) to facilitate the generation of a standard compliant DOI entry.]

Identifier
doi:10.5676/DWD_EMIR/V001
identifierType
DOI

Creator
Bennartz, Ralf; Stengel, Martin; Schroeder, Marc; Hollmann, Rainer; Picard, Bruno; Fell, Frank

Title
Total column water vapour from the Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instruments onboard ERS-1, ERS-2, and ENVISAT

Publisher
Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD)

PublicationYear
2016

Subject
551 Geology, hydrology, meteorology
subjectScheme
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)

contributerType
Funder
contributerName
European Space Agency (ESA)

Date
1992-10-23/2012-04-08
dateType
Available

ResourceTyoe
Research Data
resourceTypeGeneral
Dataset

Size
Level-2 orbital data have a size of typically 2.0 MB and comprise 1 day of data. Level-3 monthy means encompass the full time series and amount to 57.6 MB at 2° × 2° and 25.6 MB at 3° × 3° resolution.

Format
NetCDF CF-1.6

Version
EMiR Version 1

Description

The Microwave Radiometer (MWR) flown on-board Envisat, ERS-1, and ERS-2 has provided a time series of global microwave observations over a period of nearly 21 years between 1991 and 2012. A successor instrument with very similar characteristics will be carried on-board the Sentinel-3 suite of satellites, which will extend the availability of the MWR observations from early 2016 well into the mid-2020s and possibly beyond.

Unlike methods relying on infrared or visible/near-infrared techniques, microwave observations allow for accurate retrievals of total column water vapour (TCWV) and liquid water path (LWP) also under cloudy conditions. In order to improve the quality and usefulness of MWR observations, the European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned the project "ERS/Envisat MWR Recalibration and Water Vapour Thematic Data Record Generation" (EMiR) as part of their Long-Term Data Preservation (LTDP) activities. In this context, fully re- and inter-calibrated data records of MWR brightness temperatures and derived TCWV have been generated. In support of ocean altimetry, the wet tropospheric delay has been additionally calculated from the EMiR TCWV and ERA-Interim atmospheric fields.

The EMiR dataset is provided for individual orbits at MWR's native spatial resolution of typically 20 km (Level-2) as well in a gridded form for monthly mean values in spatial resolutions of 2° × 2° and 3° × 3° (Level 3).

descriptionType
Abstract

geoLocationPlace
The EMiR dataset is available for the global ice-free ocean.

Known issues

Data access

Disclaimer
The EMiR dataset was assembled as a service to the atmospheric and oceanic research community. No warranties to the correctness and accuracy of the information therein can be made.

Cite this work
The EMiR dataset should be cited as follows: Bennartz, R., M. Stengel, M. Schröder, R. Hollmann, B. Picard, and F. Fell (2016): Total column water vapour from the Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instruments onboard ERS-1, ERS-2, and ENVISAT, doi:10.5676/DWD_EMIR/V001.