GPM GPROF: Global Satellite Precipitation Profiles for Climate Studies

Global daily and monthly gridded precipitation averages derived from microwave sensors on the Suomi-NPP satellite. The data is produced by NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission using the GPROF algorithm and is specifically processed as a climate-reference product with homogeneous ancillary data from ECMWF-Interim reanalysis. Version 07 is the current version, superseding all older releases.

Use Cases

• Climate trend analysis based on homogeneous, climate-referenced precipitation retrievals.
• Studying atmospheric water vapor and hydrometeor profiles based on microwave sensor sensitivity.
• Validating and calibrating climate models using global gridded precipitation averages.
• Investigating liquid and ice-phase precipitation distribution based on satellite retrievals.

Strengths

• Processed as a climate-reference product using homogeneous ECMWF-Interim ancillary data for consistency over time.
• Based on retrievals from high-quality microwave sensors sensitive to both liquid and ice-phase precipitation.
• Provides global coverage at a 0.25-degree x 0.25-degree spatial resolution.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analyses.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via the GPM mission.

Collection Method

Satellite retrievals from the ATMS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite, processed with the GPROF algorithm.

Time Range

Provides daily and monthly averages; specific temporal coverage is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:08:36.582085; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage.