GPM_2AGPROFMETOPBMHS: Global Satellite Precipitation Profiles from Microwave Radiometers

Global precipitation and atmospheric water vapor data retrieved by the GPM GPROF algorithm from a constellation of passive microwave sensors, including the MHS instrument on METOP-B. The dataset is produced by NASA and provides near-realtime, standard, and climate products with differing latency and ancillary data sources. Version 07 is the current version, superseding older releases.

Use Cases

• Model global precipitation patterns based on the Bayesian retrieval of rain profiles and hydrometeor vertical structure.
• Analyze atmospheric water vapor content based on brightness temperature observations from multiple satellite sensors.
• Study climate data consistency based on the use of ECMWF reanalysis fields in the climate product.
• Assess near-realtime precipitation coverage based on the 3-hour sampling achieved by the GPM constellation.

Strengths

• Provides consistent precipitation retrieval across multiple satellite sensors using a parametric Bayesian method.
• Offers three product types (near-realtime, standard, climate) with defined data latency windows of 3 hours, 48 hours, and 3 months.
• Current version is Version 07, with older versions superseded and unavailable.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data retrieved via the GPROF Bayesian algorithm from passive microwave sensors on the GPM core satellite and partner satellites.

Time Range

Provides near-realtime (3-hour), standard (48-hour), and climate (3-month) data products.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:58:09.245823; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage achieved by the satellite constellation.