GCPEx Winter 2012 Micro Rain Radar Ground Validation Data

Winter 2012 data from a vertically pointing 24 GHz Doppler radar collected during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment in Ontario, Canada. The dataset provides vertical profiles of rain rates, drop size distributions, radar reflectivity, and fall velocities to address shortcomings in satellite snowfall retrieval algorithms. It is produced by the GHRC DAAC using the second-generation METEK MRR instrument, with Version 2 active from April 30, 2015.

Use Cases

• Validating Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite snowfall retrieval algorithms using ground-based radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity profiles.
• Analyzing microphysical properties of winter precipitation, including drop size distributions and hydrometeor fall velocities.
• Studying vertical structure of cold-season precipitation events through quantitative rain rate profiles.
• Supporting coordinated model simulations of precipitating snow with observed remote sensing data.

Strengths

• Data is from a focused field campaign (GCPEx) specifically designed to improve satellite snowfall algorithms.
• Provides high-resolution vertical profiles of multiple precipitation parameters (reflectivity, velocity, rain rate) up to several kilometers.
• Dataset versioning indicates active curation, with Version 2 released in 2015.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: one reports 2012-03-14, while others report 2026-03-13.

Provenance

Source

GHRC DAAC

Collection Method

Collected from a METEK Micro Rain Radar (MRR-2), a vertically pointing Doppler radar, during the GCPEx field campaign.

Time Range

Winter season 2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:24:28.178787

Geography

Ontario, Canada