GPM 3GPROF: Global Satellite Precipitation Averages for Climate Studies

Version 07 climate-reference precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, produced by NASA. The dataset provides global gridded daily precipitation averages derived from microwave sensors on the NOAA-19 satellite, processed using the GPROF algorithm with homogeneous ECMWF-Interim reanalysis ancillary data. It is designed for climate studies and last updated on 2026-03-13.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term global precipitation trends based on climate-referenced satellite retrievals.
• Studying atmospheric water vapor and hydrometeor distribution based on microwave sensor sensitivity.
• Validating climate models using homogeneous, gridded daily precipitation averages.
• Investigating regional climate patterns based on 0.25-degree spatial resolution data.

Strengths

• Uses Version 07, the current and superseding version of the data.
• Provides climate-reference homogeneity by using consistent ECMWF-Interim reanalysis ancillary data.
• Derived from high-quality microwave sensors sensitive to both liquid and ice-phase precipitation.

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.
• Ancillary data from ECMWF-Interim has a 2-3 month lag behind regular production.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via the GES DISC.

Collection Method

Retrievals from the MHS radiometer on the NOAA-19 satellite, processed by the GPROF algorithm.

Time Range

Daily averages; specific temporal coverage is not detailed in the provided metadata.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:17:41.218714; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage at a 0.25 degree x 0.25 degree grid resolution.