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Introduction to Passive Microwave Retrieval Methods

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Satellite Precipitation Measurement

Part of the book series: Advances in Global Change Research ((AGLO,volume 67))

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to the basic concepts behind the remote sensing of precipitation from passive microwave radiation. Distinctions are drawn between emission-based frameworks that work well over radiometrically cold oceans, scattering methods that work better over land, and the newer optimal estimation methods that incorporate both of these concepts as well as principles adopted from the atmospheric sounding community. The reader is introduced simultaneously to the basic spaceborne sensors, and their evolution, to show how sensors and algorithms have evolved over time, leading to the current GPM satellite concept. This chapter is not a comprehensive review of all the algorithms that have been developed. Instead, it highlights individual algorithms that represent the spectrum of algorithm being employed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, USA

    Christian D. Kummerow

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  1. Christian D. Kummerow
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Correspondence to Christian D. Kummerow .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CNR-ISAC, Bologna, Italy

    Vincenzo Levizzani

  2. Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Christopher Kidd

  3. Code 617, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Dalia B. Kirschbaum

  4. Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Christian D. Kummerow

  5. Department of Economics on Sustainability, Dokkyo University, Saitama, Japan

    Kenji Nakamura

  6. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    F. Joseph Turk

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Kummerow, C.D. (2020). Introduction to Passive Microwave Retrieval Methods. In: Levizzani, V., Kidd, C., Kirschbaum, D.B., Kummerow, C.D., Nakamura, K., Turk, F.J. (eds) Satellite Precipitation Measurement. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24568-9_7

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