Global Precipitation Measurement Radiometer Climate-Referenced Profiles

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite constellation data provides precipitation profiles and hydrometeor vertical structure. The dataset uses a Bayesian algorithm on brightness temperature observations from multiple passive microwave sensors to retrieve mean rain rates and uncertainties. NASA's GES DISC distributes this climate-referenced product, which employs ECMWF reanalysis for homogeneous ancillary data over the climate time series.

Use Cases

• Analyze precipitation vertical structure using retrieved hydrometeor profiles and their uncertainty fields.
• Study global 3-hour precipitation coverage patterns from the multi-sensor constellation's brightness temperature observations.
• Validate climate model precipitation outputs against climate-referenced retrievals using ECMWF reanalysis ancillary data.
• Investigate sensor-specific precipitation retrievals from GMI, TMI, SSMIS, AMSR2, MHS, ATMS, and SAPHIR instruments.
• Assess Bayesian algorithm performance by comparing observed and simulated brightness temperatures for rain profile matching.

Strengths

• Provides consistent climate-referenced retrievals using homogeneous ECMWF reanalysis ancillary data.
• Integrates observations from a constellation of 9+ satellite passive microwave sensors for broad coverage.
• Algorithm retrieves both mean rain rate and the vertical structure of cloud and precipitation hydrometeors.

Limitations

• Ancillary data from ECMWF reanalysis has a 2-3 month lag behind regular production, limiting near-real-time use.
• Specific spatial resolution, temporal coverage, and row counts are not provided in the available description.
• Pre-V07 algorithm versions are superseded and no longer available, limiting historical analysis continuity.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

Retrievals from the GPROF Bayesian algorithm applied to brightness temperatures from the GPM constellation of passive microwave radiometers.

Time Range

Time series intended for climate reference; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

Version 07 is the current version; update frequency is not specified.

Geography

Global coverage from the GPM satellite constellation.