GPM SSMIS F17: Daily Global Precipitation Grids for Climate Studies

Version 07 climate-reference precipitation data from NASA's GPM mission uses a homogeneous reanalysis for ancillary conditions, ensuring consistency for long-term studies. Global 0.25-degree gridded daily averages are derived from microwave sensors sensitive to both liquid and ice-phase precipitation. The data is produced by NASA's Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Conducting climate trend analysis based on homogeneous, climate-referenced precipitation retrievals.
• Studying global atmospheric water vapor and precipitation patterns based on microwave sensor data.
• Validating and calibrating climate models using satellite-derived daily precipitation grids.
• Investigating the distribution of liquid and ice-phase hydrometeors in the atmosphere.

Strengths

• Uses Version 07, the current and superseding version of the dataset.
• Provides a homogeneous climate time series by using the ECMWF-Interim reanalysis as ancillary data.
• Offers a global spatial coverage at a 0.25-degree by 0.25-degree grid resolution.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The ECMWF-Interim ancillary data has a 2-3 month lag behind regular production, which may affect near-real-time applications.
• Row count and total file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

Retrievals from the SSMIS sensor on the F17 satellite, processed using the GPROF algorithm with climate-adjusted databases.

Time Range

Daily averages; specific temporal coverage is not stated in the provided input.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 01:55:24.726225.

Geography

Global.