GPM SSMIS Climate-Reference Radiometer Precipitation Profiles

Satellite-based precipitation profiles and related fields retrieved from SSMIS radiometer data using a Bayesian algorithm. The climate-reference product uses ECMWF reanalysis for homogeneous ancillary data to support consistent long-term records. This dataset is produced by the GPROF algorithm and hosted by the GES DISC.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term precipitation trends using climate-referenced brightness temperature and retrieved rain rate fields.
• Validate numerical weather prediction models against satellite-derived vertical hydrometeor profiles.
• Study the uncertainty of precipitation estimates provided by the Bayesian retrieval algorithm.
• Correlate surface and atmospheric conditions from ECMWF reanalysis with retrieved precipitation profiles.

Strengths

• Climate-referenced product designed for homogeneous data records over time series.
• Uses a consistent Bayesian retrieval method across multiple satellite sensors for the GPM constellation.

Limitations

• Ancillary data from ECMWF reanalysis has a 2-3 month lag behind regular production, limiting near-real-time analysis.
• Specific row count, geographic coverage, and temporal resolution for this sensor product are not provided.

Provenance

Source

NASA GES DISC, from the GPM mission's SSMIS sensor on the DMSP F18 satellite.

Collection Method

Precipitation profiles retrieved by the GPROF Bayesian algorithm using an a-priori database of rain profiles and simulated brightness temperatures.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Version 07 is the current version; update frequency is not specified.

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbits.