TRMM_2A55UW: Ground Radar 3D Reflectivity for Satellite Validation

TRMM Ground Validation Radar Site 3D Reflectivity data provides interpolated radar reflectivity and velocity fields on a 150x150 km horizontal grid with 2 km resolution and a vertical range of 2-15 km with 1 km resolution. The dataset is produced by the University of Washington for the NASA TRMM project, using quality-controlled data from ground-based radar, rain gauges, and disdrometers at primary sites including Darwin, Houston, Kwajalein, and Melbourne. It is generated only for volumes of interest, defined as those within +/-15 minutes of satellite overpass or with significant rainfall (areal rainfall rate >= 0.15mm/hr).

Use Cases

• Validate satellite-derived precipitation estimates based on ground radar 3D reflectivity data.
• Analyze vertical structure of precipitation based on the 1 km vertical resolution data.
• Study significant rainfall events based on the selection criteria for volumes of interest.
• Compare precipitation measurements across different ground validation sites mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data is quality-controlled as part of the TRMM Ground Validation effort.
• Spatial resolution is explicitly defined (2 km horizontal, 1 km vertical).
• Collection includes data from four primary ground validation sites and additional supported efforts.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is not created for every radar volume, only for selected volumes of interest.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

NCAR SPRINT interpolation of CZ and VR fields from ground-based radar data, part of the TRMM Ground Validation project.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 20:45:41.589740; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Primary sites: Darwin, Australia; Houston, Texas; Kwajalein, Republic of the Marshall Islands; Melbourne, Florida; and NASA Wallops Flight Facility.