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Full catalog/GPM_1BGMI
GPM_1BGMI·v08·dataset

Raw microwave brightness readings (GPM GMI)

GPM GMI Brightness Temperatures L1B 1.5 hours 13 km V08 (GPM_1BGMI) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 1B active
In plain English

What it measures. How much microwave energy the surface and atmosphere naturally emit, recorded across 13 channels and converted into calibrated brightness values. In plain terms, it captures how 'bright' things look to a microwave sensor.

How it's made. Produced from the GMI microwave instrument on the GPM satellite, with raw counts turned into geolocated, calibrated brightness temperatures through an in-flight calibration process.

How & where you'd use it. A building-block input used mainly to derive higher-level products like rainfall estimates, rather than used directly by most people.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-03-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byGPM (GMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-180, -70, 180, 70
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

Version 08 is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 08. The 1BGMI algorithm uses a non-linear three-point in-flight calibration to derive antenna temperature (Ta) and convert Ta to Tb using GMI antenna pattern corrections. The four-point calibration, which utilizes noise diode measurements, is used to monitor the sensor non-linearty. The noise diode measurements also provide a hot load back-up calibration in case hot load measurements are lost. Details are in the GMI ATBD. The 1BGMI algorithm and software transform Level 0 counts into geolocated and calibrated brightness temperatures (Tb) for 13 GMI channels.

Get the data

gpm_1bgmi_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_1BGMI",
    version="08",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.