TROPICS Pathfinder: Orbital Microwave Antenna Temperatures for Storm Analysis

Each data granule contains 81 spots and approximately 2880 scans, representing one satellite orbit. The TROPICS Pathfinder satellite provides high-temporal-resolution, nearly all-weather observations of 3D temperature, humidity, cloud ice, and precipitation structure using a passive microwave spectrometer. Its data supports scientific investigations into the intensity and structure of tropical cyclones.

Use Cases

• Analyzing 3D temperature profiles using seven channels near the 118.75-GHz oxygen absorption line.
• Profiling atmospheric water vapor using three channels near the 183-GHz water vapor absorption line.
• Measuring precipitation and cloud ice structure by combining imagery from 90 GHz and 205 GHz channels.
• Conducting high-value science investigations of tropical cyclones with high-temporal-resolution observations.

Strengths

• Data is produced from a dedicated satellite constellation mission (six identical Space Vehicles) designed for high-temporal-resolution storm observation.
• Each netCDF file contains a complete orbital granule with a defined structure of 81 spots and approximately 2880 scans.
• The sensor provides observations across 12 specific microwave channels targeting temperature, humidity, precipitation, and cloud ice.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as specific column names, dataset size, and row counts are not provided in the source descriptions.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms for reuse.
• The 'last updated' metadata conflicts, with one source showing a date in 2026 and another showing null.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES_DISC)

Collection Method

Collected by the TROPICS Pathfinder satellite's Millimeter-wave Sounder (TMS) payload on a sun-synchronous orbital plane.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:34:33.312092

Geography

Global, with a focus on tropical regions for cyclone observation.