CoSMIR GCPEx: Airborne Microwave Radiometer Data for Satellite Validation

Nine microwave channels between 50-183 GHz provide calibrated brightness temperature data with an accuracy on the order of ±1 Kelvin. The Conical Scanning Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer (CoSMIR) was used as an airborne simulator for the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx). Its modified scan mode allowed simultaneous acquisition of conical and cross-track scan data to support Precipitation Measurement Mission algorithm development.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-based precipitation retrievals from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) using airborne high-frequency simulator data.
• Developing precipitation algorithms for the Precipitation Measurement Mission (PMM) based on multi-channel brightness temperature observations.
• Analyzing cold-season precipitation characteristics using calibrated radiometric data from 50-183 GHz channels.

Strengths

• Provides data from 9 specific microwave channels (50-183 GHz), enabling detailed spectral analysis.
• Calibration accuracy is explicitly stated as on the order of ±1 Kelvin.
• Data was collected with a modified sensor capable of simultaneous conical and cross-track scanning.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are not provided by any source, limiting understanding of the internal organization.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (2012-02-24 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-04-10 on Data.gov).
• No information on dataset size, row count, or temporal/spatial coverage of the flights is provided.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Airborne sensor data collection during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx).

Freshness

2026-04-10 (from Data.gov, though this future date may be an error or placeholder)