GPM_2AGPROFF19SSMIS_CLIM: Climate-Referenced Satellite Precipitation Profiles

Version 07 climate-referenced precipitation data from the GPM mission's SSMIS sensor on the DMSP F19 satellite. The dataset is produced by NASA using the GPROF Bayesian algorithm, which retrieves mean rain rates and vertical hydrometeor profiles from passive microwave brightness temperatures. It uses ECMWF-Interim reanalysis for homogeneous ancillary data to support long-term climate studies.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term precipitation trends based on climate-referenced ancillary data.
• Studying the vertical structure of cloud and precipitation hydrometeors based on retrieved profiles.
• Comparing precipitation retrievals across different satellite sensors in the GPM constellation.
• Validating climate models using consistent, multi-sensor satellite precipitation records.

Strengths

• Provides a large sampling of global precipitation as part of the GPM constellation's 3-hour coverage.
• Uses a consistent, parametric Bayesian algorithm (GPROF) with an a-priori database for retrievals across multiple sensors.
• Climate-Reference product (CLIM) uses homogeneous ECMWF-Interim reanalysis ancillary data for long-term consistency.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Ancillary data for the climate product (ECMWF-Interim) has a 2-3 month lag behind regular production.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Retrieved from passive microwave satellite sensors (SSMIS on DMSP F19) and processed with the Goddard Profiling (GPROF) algorithm.

Time Range

Time series intended for climate studies; specific range not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:54:40.485247; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from satellite observations.