Dr. Thomas Wilheit
| Title | Professor |
| Research Interests | Microwave Remote Sensing Group. Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission, SSM/T-2 on the DMSP satellites, Multifrequency Imaging Microwave Radiometer (MIMR) on the PM platform of the Earth Observing System (EOS). |
| Education | Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Office Location | Room 903B, O&M Bldg |
| Office Phone | 979-845-0176 |
| Fax | 979-862-4466 |
| wilheit@tamu.edu | |
| Mailing Address | Department of Atmospheric Sciences Texas A&M University 3150 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3150 |
Research Interests
The activities of the Microwave Remote Sensing Group center on 3 satellite instruments: the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) on the future Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), the SSM/T-2 on the current operational DMSP satellites, and the Multifrequency Imaging Microwave Radiometer (MIMR) on the PM platform OF the Earth Observing System (Eos) to be launched in the next century. In all cases the principal activity is in the development of algorithms for the retrieval of geophysical parameters from the observations of the repsective intruments. There is a secondary activity in the case of the MIMR and TMI for advising in the development and calibration of the sensors.
We attempt to derive algorithms as an excercise in physics. Our retrievals are based upon radiative transfer models which we try to make as realistic as both possible and necessary. Many important geophysical parameters will not yield to this treatment and must be handled on a more empirical basis. In spite of their importance, we will leave these parameters to other groups. Our strength is in understanding the physics of the measurements.