Olympic Mountains Radar Data for GPM Satellite Validation

November 2015 to January 2016 data from the Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX) campaign. This dataset contains Ku- and Ka-band dual-polarized Doppler radar products, including reflectivity, velocity, and differential phase, collected to validate measurements from the GPM Core Observatory satellite. The data was gathered by the NASA-funded D3R radar, co-located with an NPOL radar on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

Use Cases

• Validating GPM satellite precipitation estimates by comparing Ku/Ka-band radar reflectivity and differential phase from the ground-based D3R.
• Analyzing microphysical properties of precipitation using dual-polarization products like differential reflectivity and co-polar correlation coefficient.
• Studying storm dynamics and wind fields in complex terrain using Doppler velocity and spectrum width measurements.
• Investigating the impact of radar frequency on precipitation observation by comparing Ku-band (13.91 GHz) and Ka-band (35.56 GHz) data from the same instrument.

Strengths

• Provides direct ground validation data for the GPM satellite mission, collected during a dedicated field campaign from November 2015 to January 2016.
• Includes six core radar products: reflectivity, velocity, differential reflectivity, differential phase, spectrum width, and co-polar correlation.
• Operates at Ku- and Ka-band frequencies matching the GPM satellite's Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) for direct comparison.
• Dataset is available on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA Earthdata and Data.gov), indicating its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is limited to a 220 to 120 degree sector due to blockage from the co-located NPOL radar.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete column list are not provided across any source.
• Sources disagree on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13, while NASA Earthdata lists 2016-01 -15.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), GPM Ground Validation program.

Collection Method

Collected by the Dual-frequency Dual-polarized Doppler Radar (D3R) during the OLYMPEX field campaign.

Time Range

November 8, 2015 to January 15, 2016 (with campaign activities noted through February 2016).

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:05:11.457721

Geography

Olympic Peninsula, coastal Washington state, Pacific Northwest, United States.