REMOTE-SENSING OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER-VAPOR, LIQUID WATER, AND WIND SPEED AT THE OCEAN SURFACE BY PASSIVE MICROWAVE TECHNIQUES FROM THE NIMBUS-5 SATELLITE

The microwave brightness temperature measurements for Nimbus 5 electrically scanned microwave radiometer (ESMR) and Nimbus‐E microwave spectrometer (NEMS) are used to retrieve the atmospheric water vapor, liquid water, and wind speed by a quasi‐statistical retrieval technique. It is shown that the brightness temperature can be utilized to yield these parameters under various weather conditions. Observations at 19.35, 22.235, and 31.4 GHz were input to the regression equations. The retrieved values of these parameters for portions of two Nimbus 5 orbits are presented. Then comparison between the retrieved parameters and the available observations on the total water vapor content and the surface wind speed are made. The estimated errors for retrieval are approximately ±0.15 g/cm2 for water vapor content, ±6.5 mg/cm2 for liquid water content, and ±6.6 m/s for surface wind speed. This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. Published in 1979 by the American Geophysical Union.