TROPICS Pathfinder: Satellite Brightness Temperatures for Tropical Cyclone Analysis

TROPICS Pathfinder satellite data provides nearly all-weather observations of temperature, humidity, cloud ice, and precipitation structure. The dataset contains Level 2A geolocated brightness temperatures at native spatial resolution, with each netCDF file representing an orbit's worth of data (81 spots and approximately 2880 scans). It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from a single 3U small satellite launched prior to the full constellation.

Use Cases

• Modeling three-dimensional temperature profiles based on seven channels near the 118.75-GHz oxygen absorption line
• Analyzing water vapor profiles based on three channels near the 183-GHz water vapor absorption line
• Measuring precipitation and cloud ice structure using channels near 90 GHz and 205 GHz
• Conducting high-value science investigations of tropical cyclones based on the mission's stated goal of providing storm intensity observations

Strengths

• Data is reported at native spatial resolutions, likely preserving original sensor detail
• Each granule contains a full orbit's worth of data with 81 spots and approximately 2880 scans
• Produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a recognized authority in space science

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 20:38:08.517988; freshness should be verified

Geography

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