Olympic Mountain Experiment Cloud Radar Reflectivity and Doppler Data

Radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity data from the Cloud Radar System (CRS) instrument flown aboard NASA's ER-2 aircraft during the Olympic Mountain Experiment (OLYMPEX). The dataset contains one-hour measurement files from 10 flights conducted between November 10 and December 10, 2015, used to estimate cloud droplet distribution in monitored storms. Data is provided in netCDF-3 format by the Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC DAAC).

Use Cases

• Validating satellite precipitation retrievals from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission using ground-based radar reflectivity data.
• Analyzing cloud droplet distribution and microphysical properties within storms using Doppler velocity and reflectivity profiles.
• Studying the vertical structure of precipitation systems over complex terrain like the Olympic Mountains.
• Correlating aircraft flight path information with radar measurements to analyze spatial storm features.
• Investigating the relationship between radar backscatter, mean radial velocity, and cloud physical processes.

Strengths

• Data collected during a focused, 10-flight field campaign (OLYMPEX) providing a consistent temporal snapshot.
• Includes specific aircraft flight information, enabling precise geolocation and analysis of spatial data.
• Data is in the accessible netCDF-3 format, not requiring specialized software for basic use.

Limitations

• Exact file, row, and size counts are not provided across any source, limiting assessment of dataset scale.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, listing both 2015-12-10 and 2026-03-13.
• Column names and a complete data dictionary are not explicitly listed in the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC_DAAC)

Collection Method

Airborne measurements collected by the 94GHz W-band Cloud Radar System (CRS) instrument on NASA's ER-2 aircraft.

Time Range

November 10, 2015 to December 10,我们这个2015

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:05:43.741010

Geography

Olympic Mountain region (from OLYMPEX field campaign).