GCPEx Wind Profiler Data for Snowfall Detection Validation

Ontario, Canada hosts this dataset of post-processed consensus winds from a Vaisala Wind Profiler LAP 3000. It contains wind speed and direction data collected from January 15 to March 1, 2012 at the CARE site for the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration produced this dataset to validate satellite-based snowfall detection and estimation methods.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived wind profiles from the GPM mission by comparing them with ground-based Doppler radar measurements.
• Analyzing wind speed and direction patterns during cold-season precipitation events in a continental climate.
• Calibrating and assessing the performance of the Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) weather forecast model against observed wind data.
• Studying the relationship between atmospheric wind profiles and snowfall microphysics for improved remote sensing algorithms.

Strengths

• Provides a focused 46-day time series of high-resolution wind profile data specifically for a cold-season precipitation experiment.
• Includes direct comparisons between instrument-measured winds (profiler) and model-derived winds (GEM), enabling validation work.
• Dataset is hosted by NASA and appears on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata), indicating curation and importance for the research community.

Limitations

• The exact data volume (row count, file size) and specific column schema are not documented on any platform, limiting immediate usability.
• A conflict exists on the 'last updated' metadata: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13 (likely a placeholder), while NASA Earthdata lists 2012-03-01 (the collection end date).
• Data is from a single campaign (GCPEx) at one location over a short winter period, limiting generalizability.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by a Vaisala Wind Profiler LAP 3000, a pulsed Doppler radar, and post-processed to produce consensus winds.

Time Range

January 15, 2012 through March 1, 2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:24:07.155799

Geography

CARE site in Ontario, Canada