GPM Ground Validation Snowfall Particle Measurements from Canada

Autonomous Parsivel Unit optical disdrometers measured the size and fall velocity of individual precipitation particles during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment. This dataset provides detailed counts and distributions for raindrops and snowflakes to improve satellite snowfall retrieval algorithms. Data was collected by NASA and the University of Alabama in Huntsville at several Canadian sites during the winter of 2011-2012.

Use Cases

• Validating GPM satellite snowfall retrieval algorithms using ground-truth particle size and velocity distributions.
• Analyzing the microphysical differences between rain and snow events using drop size and snowflake size data.
• Studying winter precipitation characteristics across multiple sites in Canada with data on precipitation rate and amount.
• Correlating in-situ disdrometer measurements with coordinated remote sensing observations and model simulations from GCPEx.

Strengths

• Provides direct, ground-based measurements of single-particle properties (size and velocity) for precipitation validation.
• Data supports a specific NASA mission experiment (GCPEx) designed to address known shortcomings in snowfall retrieval.
• Covers a full winter season (2011-2012) across multiple measurement sites for spatial and temporal analysis.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all platforms.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2012 vs. 2026), suggesting potential metadata inconsistencies.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms for reuse.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with instrument support from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Collection Method

Collected by Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU) optical disdrometers, which consist of an OTT Parsivel sensor and custom support systems.

Time Range

Winter 2011-2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:26:34.518603

Geography

Several sites in Canada