IPHEx Rain Gauge Pairs for Satellite Validation

NASA's GPM Ground Validation Met One Rain Gauge IPHEx V2 dataset contains precipitation measurements from the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment. Data were collected from September 11, 2013 to October 30, 2014 using Met One Model 380 tipping bucket gauges across the Southern Appalachians, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain of North Carolina. It provides quality-controlled precipitation amounts and interpolated rain rates at one-minute resolution to validate satellite observations and support hydrological modeling.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived precipitation estimates from missions like GPM by comparing with high-temporal-resolution ground truth data.
• Calibrating and forcing hydrological models for flood prediction and water resource management in the Southern Appalachian region.
• Analyzing the spatial and temporal structure of rainfall events at a one-minute resolution for meteorological studies.
• Studying instrument performance and data quality control methods for tipping bucket rain gauge networks.

Strengths

• Provides high-temporal-resolution data with one-minute recordings of precipitation amount and rain rate.
• Covers a 13-month continuous field campaign from September 2013 to October 2014.
• Data is quality-controlled and includes both raw measurements and cubic spline interpolated rain rates.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, reporting either 2014-10-30 or 2026-03 13.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected using Met One Model 380 tipping bucket precipitation gauges during the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx).

Time Range

2013-09-11 to 2014-10-30

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:03:18.892648

Geography

Southern Appalachians, spanning into the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of North Carolina, USA.