Satellite Overpass Paths For Iowa Flood Studies Campaign

Satellite overpass paths plot the ground tracks of 14 Earth observation satellites over eastern Iowa during the GPM Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) field campaign. The dataset, produced by NASA, includes paths from NASA, NOAA, European, and DMSP satellites to support ground validation of precipitation measurements. Data is provided as PNG image plots and KML files for use in tools like Google Earth.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite precipitation retrievals by correlating overpass timing with ground-based IFloodS measurements.
• Visualizing the spatial coverage of multiple satellite platforms (e.g., AQUA, TERRA, CloudSat, Suomi NPP) over a specific region using KML files.
• Planning future field campaigns by analyzing historical satellite observation patterns over a target area.
• Studying the coordination of international satellite assets (NASA, NOAA, Europe, DMSP) for a focused scientific campaign.

Strengths

• Includes paths from 14 distinct satellite platforms from multiple international agencies, providing coordinated observation data.
• Data is provided in both visual (PNG) and geospatial (KML) formats, enabling multiple analysis methods.
• Specifically designed for the IFloodS field campaign, ensuring direct relevance to precipitation and flood studies.

Limitations

• The dataset consists of plot images and KML files, not raw tabular orbital data, limiting quantitative analysis.
• Conflicting last update dates exist between sources (2013-06 30 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-03-13 on Data.gov), casting doubt on data currency.
• No information is provided on the total number of overpass events, file count, or dataset size.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Generated from satellite orbital data during the GPM Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) field campaign.

Time Range

Campaign period of IFloodS (specific dates not provided in sources).

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:00:05.415072

Geography

Eastern Iowa, United States.