TROPICS06: Orbital Microwave Temperature and Humidity Profiles for Tropical Cyclones

The TROPICS Pathfinder satellite provides nearly all-weather observations of tropical cyclones from a sun-synchronous orbit. Each netCDF file contains a granule of data with 81 spots and approximately 2880 scans, representing one orbit's worth of measurements. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

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 imagery channels near 90 GHz and 205 GHz
• Conducting high-value science investigations of storm intensity based on the constellation's mission goal

Strengths

• Data is produced from a dedicated satellite constellation mission with six identical Space Vehicles
• Each data granule contains approximately 2880 scans, providing high temporal resolution
• The spectrometer payload provides measurements across 12 specific microwave channels for temperature, humidity, precipitation, and cloud ice

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to its focus on tropical cyclone regions

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 20:51:59.640950; freshness should be verified

Geography

Tropical cyclone regions, likely global