TRMM_3A53: 5-Day Ground Radar Rain Totals for Satellite Validation

Five-day accumulated surface rain rate maps derived from ground-based radar for validating TRMM satellite precipitation products. The dataset provides quality-controlled rain maps at a 2 km horizontal resolution across four primary validation sites in Darwin, Houston, Kwajalein, and Melbourne, with additional measurements from NASA Wallops. It covers areas ranging from 300km x 300km at single sites to 724km x 568km for multi-radar regions in Texas.

Use Cases

• Validating TRMM satellite rain rate products using ground-based radar and gauge networks.
• Analyzing spatial rainfall patterns at 2 km resolution over specific validation sites.
• Studying drop size distribution (DSD) using collocated disdrometer measurements.
• Comparing precipitation characteristics across tropical and subtropical sites (e.g., Darwin, Kwajalein, Florida).

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (2 km) geospatial rain maps for direct comparison with satellite data.
• Covers multiple long-term ground validation sites with quality-controlled data from radar, gauges, and disdrometers.
• Includes detailed instrument metadata (e.g., Joss-Waldvogel, Parsivel, 2D video disdrometers).

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are unknown, limiting precise technical understanding.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata (2015 vs. 2026) creates uncertainty about dataset freshness and maintenance.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and author information are not provided across platforms.

Provenance

Source

NASA TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Ground Validation (GV) program, processed by GES DISC.

Collection Method

Data collected from ground-based radar, rain gauges, and disdrometers, quality-controlled, and processed into 5-day accumulated rain maps (2A53 product).

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: one source lists 2026-04-09, another lists 2015-01-01.

Geography

Primary sites: Darwin, Australia; Houston, Texas; Kwajalein, Republic of the Marshall Islands; Melbourne, Florida. Additional site: NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). Map extents vary: 300km x 300km (single site), 724km x 568km (Texas multi-radar), 512km x 704km (Florida).