BackForwardInstrument:  ICI  

Instrument details
Acronym ICI
Full name Ice Cloud Imager
Purpose Cloud ice by differential signature in several water vapour bands
Short description 11 millimetre-sub-millimetre frequencies , 13 channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Conical: 53.1° zenith angle, swath 1700 km - Scan rate: ~ 27 scan/min = ~ 15 km/scan
Resolution Consistent with an antenna diameter of ~ 0.5 m, brought to same (15 km) for all channels
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage once/day
Mass 70 kg Power 80 W Data Rate 60 kbps

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Demonstrated by simulations
Utilization Period: 2026 to 2048
Last update: 2021-06-02
Detailed characteristics

No.

Central requency (GHz)

Bandwidth (MHz)

NEΔT

Bias

Polarisations

IFOV

1

183.31±7.0

2x2000

0.8 K

1.0 K

V

16 km

2

183.31±3.4

2x1500

0.8 K

1.0 K

V

16 km

3

183.31±2.0

2x1500

0.8 K

1.0 K

V

16 km

4

243.2±2.5

2x3000

0.7 K

1.5 K

V, H

16 km

5

325.15±9.5

2x3000

1.2 K

1.5 K

V

16 km

6

325.15±3.5

2x2400

1.3 K

1.5 K

V

16 km

7

325.15±1.5

2x1600

1.5 K

1.5 K

V

16 km

8

448±7.2

2x3000

14 K

1.5 K

V

16 km

9

448±3.0

2x2000

1.6 K

1.5 K

V

16 km

10

448±1.4

2x1200

2.0 K

1.5 K

V

16 km

11

664±4.2

2x5000

1.6 K

1.5 K

V, H

16 km
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive microwave radiometer
  • Conical scanning microwave radiometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Sub-mm imagery
  • Sub-mm imager
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud ice Total Column
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Cloud ice1 - primaryNo specific limitation.MW channels in 183 GHz band and at frequencies >200 GHz, up to about 640 GHz, specifically sensitive to ice
Cloud ice Total Column*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.MW channels in 183 GHz band and at frequencies >200 GHz, up to about 640 GHz, specifically sensitive to ice
Specific humidity3 - highCoarse vertical resolution.MW channels in the 183 GHz band
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)2 - very highNo specific limitation.MW channels in the water vapour band around 183 GHz