AMSERR_CPR: AMSR-E Rainfall Data Collocated with CloudSat

AMSR-E L2 rainfall data provides instantaneous rain rate and type measurements from 18 June 2002 to October 2011. This subset selects data within a 100 km swath across the CloudSat track, resulting in a 45-pixel cross-track product. It uses the Goddard Space Flight Center Profiling algorithm over ocean and a modified version over land, stored in HDF-EOS format.

Use Cases

• Validating CloudSat radar precipitation retrievals using collocated passive microwave data.
• Analyzing global rain type distribution (convective vs. stratiform) over ocean and land surfaces.
• Investigating the water and energy cycle using long-term, global passive microwave measurements.
• Developing merged satellite precipitation products by combining data from the AMSR-E and CloudSat instruments.

Strengths

• Provides a long-term, global time series from June 2002 to October 2011.
• Offers collocated data with CloudSat, enabling direct comparison between active and passive sensor retrievals.
• Uses distinct, documented algorithms (GSFC Profiling and Modified GSFC Profiling) for ocean and land areas.

Limitations

• Specific column names and row counts are not provided in the metadata.
• The last updated date conflicts between sources (2011 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026 on Data.gov).
• Data availability ends in 2011 due to instrument failure, limiting temporal coverage to recent years.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Collection Method

Subset generated from the full Level-2B AMSR-E rain rate product (AE_Rain), selecting pixels within -100 km of the CloudSat track.

Time Range

18 June 2002 to October 2011

Freshness

2026-03-13 15:34:35.832935 (Data.gov), though this may reflect metadata refresh rather than new data.

Geography

Global