GPM ACHIEVE: W-Band Cloud Radar Observations from IPHEx

NASA's ACHIEVE mobile laboratory deployed a 95 GHz dual-polarization Doppler radar exclusively in vertical-pointing mode during the 2014 IPHEx campaign in North Carolina. The dataset captures cloud and light precipitation phenomena, providing co- and cross-polar reflectivity, radial velocity, and derived linear depolarization ratio. These high-frequency radar observations are intended for validating satellite precipitation estimates and improving regional hydrology models.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-based precipitation estimates from the GPM mission using ground-based radar reflectivity data.
• Studying cloud microphysics and the transition from ice to liquid precipitation using dual-polarization and linear depolarization ratio measurements.
• Improving the accuracy of hydrological models in the southeastern United States by incorporating detailed precipitation observations.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of cloud structure and dynamics from time-series data collected in vertical-pointing mode.

Strengths

• Data collection was part of a focused NASA field campaign (IPHEx) with a specific scientific goal for satellite validation.
• Provides high-resolution, dual-polarization measurements from a specialized 95 GHz W-band radar, sensitive to cloud and light precipitation particles.
• The dataset has a clearly defined temporal coverage from May 9 to June 14, 2014.

Limitations

• The dataset's availability is limited to a specific 37-day period and a single geographic region (North Carolina).
• Column names and specific data structure are not detailed in the provided metadata, which may hinder immediate analysis.
• One platform lists a last update date in 2026, which conflicts with the 2014 data collection period and suggests potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Aerosol, Cloud, Humidity, Interactions Exploring and Validating Enterprise (ACHIEVE) ground-based mobile laboratory.

Collection Method

Observations gathered by a ProSensing 95 GHz W-band cloud radar during the GPM Ground Validation IPHEx Intensive Observing Period.

Time Range

May 9, 2014 to June 14, 2014

Freshness

2026-04-10 03:02:19.271765

Geography

North Carolina, USA