SPURS-2: Shipboard Raindrop Size Distribution in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

SPURS-2 field campaign data provides drop counts as a function of size for rain drops larger than 0.44 mm in diameter, collected from a ship in 2016 and 2017. This dataset includes associated rain rates and liquid water content estimates, supporting the study of near-surface salinity processes. Measurements are from an ODM-470 disdrometer, with a known limitation in detecting small drops below the 0.44 mm threshold.

Use Cases

• Analyzing drop size distribution (DSD) for rain events over the tropical ocean based on drop counts per size bin.
• Estimating rain rate and liquid water content from disdrometer measurements for model validation.
• Studying the relationship between oceanic precipitation and near-surface salinity variations as part of the SPURS project.
• Investigating the limitations of disdrometer data for DSD parameter estimation (e.g., Nw, D0, Dm) in environments with prevalent small drops.

Strengths

• Data collection spans two separate field campaigns in 2016 and 2017, providing a multi-year observational record.
• Dataset is associated with a well-documented NASA-funded process study (SPURS) and cites specific methodological papers (Klepp et al. 2015, 2018).
• Provides specific, quantified estimates for rain drops larger than a defined 0.44 mm diameter threshold.

Limitations

• The disdrometer cannot detect drops with diameters < 0.44 mm, which undercounts small drops and prevents accurate estimation of key DSD parameters.
• Column names and precise row/record counts are not provided in the available metadata, limiting initial assessment of data structure.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2017-11-17 vs. 2026-04-09) across platforms create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected from a shipboard ODM-470 disdrometer during the SPURS-2 oceanographic field campaign.

Time Range

2016 to 2017

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:43:39.859611

Geography

Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean