GPM DPR Ka-band Received Power: Satellite Radar Data for Precipitation Analysis

GPM_PRL1KA Version 07 contains calibrated received power data from the Ka-band (35.5 GHz) channel of the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar aboard the GPM mission's core satellite. The data is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026. It is designed to provide information on drop-size distribution and phase-transition height in precipitating systems.

Use Cases

• Improving rain rate estimation algorithms based on non-Rayleigh scattering effects at the Ka-band frequency.
• Analyzing drop-size distribution in precipitation based on dual-frequency radar measurements.
• Estimating phase-transition heights in precipitating systems to improve passive microwave radiometer rain estimates.
• Detecting light rain and snow patterns using the radar's high-sensitivity scan mode.

Strengths

• Data is from the current Version 07, superseding all older versions.
• Provides information from two distinct scanning modes: Matched Scan (120 km swath) and High-sensitivity Scan.
• Operates at the Ka-band frequency of 35.5 GHz, enabling analysis of non-Rayleigh scattering effects.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Calibrated received power measurements from the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) aboard the GPM core satellite.

Time Range

Temporal coverage is not specified in the provided metadata.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:27:17.520104; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbit, with a swath width of 120 km for the Ka-band radar.