Global Change Observation Mission - Water "SHIZUKU" (GCOM-W)
GCOM (Global Change Observation Mission) is a project for the global and long-term observation of the Earth environment. GCOM is expected to play an important role in monitoring global water circulation and climate change. It will be a kind of health checkup of the Earth from space.
"SHIZUKU" (GCOM-W) was launched aboard the H-IIA launch vehicle in May 2012.
"GCOM-W carries the AMSR2 (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2), an instrument to observe water-related targets such as precipitation, water vapor, sea surface wind speed, sea surface temperature, soil moisture, and snow depth.
Global and long-term observation (10-15 years) by GCOM will help scientists understand the mechanisms of water circulation and climate change.
