GCPEx Lidar Quicklooks for Aerosol and Water Vapor Profiles

Two lidar systems, the Semi Autonomous Tropospheric Aerosol Lidar and the Tropospheric Water Vapor Lidar, collected imagery during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment from January to March 2012 in Canada. This dataset provides quicklook imagery to address shortcomings in GPM snowfall retrieval algorithms by capturing microphysical properties and remote sensing observations of precipitating snow. The system operated semi-autonomously, shutting down automatically during rain events.

Use Cases

• Validating GPM satellite snowfall retrieval algorithms using ground-based lidar imagery.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter and atmospheric water vapor during winter precipitation events.
• Studying the microphysical properties of precipitating snow in a coordinated field campaign setting.
• Developing models that integrate lidar quicklook data with other remote sensing observations for improved atmospheric characterization.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated NASA field campaign (GCPEx) specifically designed to improve satellite snowfall retrieval.
• Contains measurements from two specialized lidar systems, providing both aerosol and water vapor profile data.
• Covers a focused three-month time range (January-March 2012) during the cold season in Canada.

Limitations

• The specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not documented on any platform.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one platform listing 2012-03-03 and another listing 2026-03 13, suggesting a metadata update versus data collection date discrepancy.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measurements gathered semi-autonomously by two ground-based lidar systems during the GCPEx field campaign.

Time Range

January - March 2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:27:16.676907

Geography

Canada