Mediterranean Precipitation Particle Size and Velocity Data from 2012

September to November 2012 data from the HYdrological cycle in Mediterranean EXperiment (HyMeX) campaign, collected by Autonomous Parsivel Unit optical disdrometers in Italy and France. This NASA dataset provides measurements of individual precipitation particle size and fall velocity for rain and snow. It supports the validation of satellite precipitation estimates from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite precipitation retrievals by comparing ground-measured drop size distributions.
• Analyzing the microphysical characteristics of Mediterranean rainfall events using raindrop size and velocity.
• Studying the transition between rain and snow precipitation types via snowflake size and distribution data.
• Investigating the relationship between particle fall velocity and size for hydrometeor classification.

Strengths

• Data provides direct, ground-based measurements of individual precipitation particle size and velocity, a key variable for model validation.
• Collection occurred during a dedicated international field campaign (HyMeX) focused on Mediterranean hydrology.
• Dataset covers a specific three-month period (Sep-Nov 2012) with measurements from two countries (Italy and France).

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: one platform lists 2012-11-07, while others list a future date of 2026-03 13.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Collected by Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU) optical disdrometers, which measure the size and fall velocity of single precipitation particles.

Time Range

September 2012 to November 2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:06:16.792707

Geography

Italy and France