Passive Microwave Remote Sensing	Active Microwave Remote Sensing
Sensor Examples
AMSU, AMSR-E, SSM/I, SSMIS, TRMM-TMI, WindSat, CMIS	QuikSCAT, TRMM-PR, RADARSAT, ASCAT, CloudSat
Measurement Capabilities
Sense microwave energy emitted naturally	Send and receive electromagnetic pulses of energy
Atmospheric and cloud information from layers	Atmospheric and cloud information from discrete levels
Sea surface wind vectors, salinity	Sea surface wind vectors, ocean waves, salinity
Precipitation (rain rate and snowfall)	Precipitation (rain rate and snowfall)
Cloud ice and cloud water	Cloud ice and cloud water
Atmospheric temperature and moisture
Snow cover/depth and sea ice/concentration	Sea ice/monitoring extent
Snow water equivalent
Soil Moisture/Surface Wetness	Soil Moisture/Surface Wetness
	Vegetation, biomass, land use, surface roughness, topography, and geology (ASCAT, RADARSAT)