FAQ

The AMSR Viewer has provided daily images of brightness temperature and estimated geophysical data since June 2002. The AMSR Viewer has such functions as map zoom-in/out and specifying the date of observation so you can easily select the region or season you want to see.

The AMSR is a satellite sensor that observes microwave signals naturally emitted from various materials on the Earth. Those data enable us to estimate various geophysical quantities related to the water cycle. The AMSR Viewer can display images of observation data and water-related geophysical quantities up to a maximum of 3 layers.

Are there other Earth observation sites released by JAXA other than the AMSR Viewer?

Thank you for your interest in JAXA's Earth observation. JAXA has released many Earth observation sites such as the Himawari Monitor and GSMaP. For details, please see JAXA for Earth.

What is the difference between “Coastline 1:50m" and “Coastline 1:10m"?

Coastline roughness is different between "Coastline 1:50m" and "Coastline 1:10m". The "Coastline 1:50m" is coarser and the "Coastline 1:10m" is finer. The "Coastline 1:10m" has a large data size, so it will take some time to display it. Normally, the user will choose the “Coastline 1:50m". If you feel the coastline is rough when you zoom in, please use the “Coastline 1:10m".

What is the "Early ver." displayed on the color scale panel?

There are two types of AMSR data, the standard and near real-time products. When "Early ver." is displayed on the color scale panel, it means that the image was created using a near real-time product. Since near-real-time products attach importance to their rapidity, they are less accurate than the standard product.

An image created using the near real-time product will be replaced when the image of the standard product is created.

The AMSR product

What are the accuracy and measurement range of the data used in the AMSR Viewer?

Please refer to the following table. The accuracy and measurement range of AMSR-E data are the same as of the AMSR2 data.

AMSR2 Standard product: https://suzaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/GCOM_W/data/data_w_product-2.html
AMSR2 Research product: https://suzaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/GCOM_W/data/data_w_product-3.html

What is the difference between "Sea Surface Wind Speed" and "All-weather Sea Surface Wind Speed"?

Both are sea surface wind speed data. "Sea wind speed" has better resolution and accuracy, but there is no data for rain, snow, and thick-cloud areas. "All-weather wind speed" has poor resolution and accuracy but is characterized by less missing data due to rain, snow, or thick clouds.

What is the difference between "Sea Surface Temperature" and "10GHz Sea Surface Temperature"?

Both data are sea surface temperature data. Since "10GHz Sea Surface Temperature" has a finer resolution, data closer to the coastline is available than for "Sea Surface Temperature". Please note that, for "10GHz Sea Surface Temperature", the accuracy is low in cold seawater below 9 degrees Celsius.

What is the difference between the “Sea Surface Temperature" in the AMSR Viewer and the “Sea Surface Temperature" of the "SHIKISAI (GCOM-C)" in JASMES?

The type of satellite sensor is different. The AMSR Viewer uses the “Sea Surface Temperature" estimated using the data obtained by a microwave radiometer (AMSR-E, AMSR2). The microwave radiometer has a coarse resolution of several tens of kilometers, but it is possible to estimate the sea surface temperature even in the presence of clouds. On the other hand, the SHIKISAI (GCOM-C) has an optical sensor called SGLI. The optical sensor cannot estimate “Sea Surface Temperature" under clouds, but the SGLI can be estimated with a finer resolution of about 250 m.

Is there any info about how the geophysical data used in the AMSR Viewer is estimated?

Please refer to the following document

Descriptions of GCOM-W1 AMSR2 Level 1R and Level 2 Algorithms: https://suzaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/GCOM_W/data/data_w_algorithm.html

Data use

What is the period of data available in the AMSR Viewer?

The period of data published on the AMSR Viewer is as follows.

AMSR-E: June 1, 2002 - October 4, 2011
AMSR2: July 3, 2012-present

What data can be downloaded from the AMSR Viewer.

You can download the time series data at any specified point on the map as a CSV file. For details, please see the AMSR Viewer User's Guide. User registration is required to download.

How can I get the AMSR-E and AMSR2 data all at once?

Please refer to the following page.

GCOM-W Data Providing Service: https://suzaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/GCOM_W/data/data_w_dpss.html

I would like to use the data downloaded from AMSR Viewer for my paper. Is there any problem?

There is no problem. Please confirm the terms of use of AMSR Viewer before using.

User Registration

I forgot my password.

Please register again from here. The old password is removed, and a new password is issued.