GPM Ground Validation W-Band Radar Data for Snowfall Detection

Radar data from a 94-GHz pulsed Doppler system, collected during February 2012 at the CARE site in Ontario, Canada. This dataset was part of the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment to characterize microwave sensors for detecting and estimating falling snow. It is provided by NASA in netCDF format and contains radar reflectivity, Doppler moments, and Doppler spectra.

Use Cases

• Analyzing radar reflectivity to study cloud droplet concentration and size.
• Using Doppler velocity measurements to investigate vertical wind dynamics.
• Validating satellite-based snowfall estimates from the GPM mission with ground-based radar data.
• Researching cold-season precipitation microphysics using high-resolution spectral data.

Strengths

• Data originates from a controlled NASA field experiment (GCPEx) with a specific scientific goal.
• Provides high-frequency (94-GHz W-Band) measurements sensitive to cloud and light precipitation particles.
• Includes multiple derived products: reflectivity, Doppler moments, and variable-length Doppler spectra.

Limitations

• Conflicting last update dates: DataGov lists 2026-03-13, while NASA Earthdata lists 2012-02-29, suggesting potential metadata errors.
• Key quantitative details like row count and dataset size are unavailable across all sources.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single month (February 2012).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by a ground-based, single-antenna, vertical-pointing 94-GHz pulsed Doppler radar system.

Time Range

February 1, - February 29, 2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:22:49.852942

Geography

CARE site, Ontario, Canada