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Full catalog/GPM_1CF16SSMIS
GPM_1CF16SSMIS·v07·dataset

Raw microwave brightness over Earth (SSMIS on F16 satellite)

GPM SSMIS on F16 Common Calibrated Brightness Temperatures L1C 1.5 hours 12 km V07 (GPM_1CF16SSMIS) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 1 active
In plain English

What it measures. How much natural microwave energy the Earth gives off, recorded across several frequencies as 'brightness temperatures' — essentially how the surface and atmosphere look to a microwave sensor.

How it's made. Comes from the SSMIS microwave instrument flying on the U.S. military's DMSP F16 satellite, with the raw readings recalibrated to a common standard so they line up with similar sensors.

How & where you'd use it. A building-block input that scientists feed into rainfall and weather products rather than something most people read directly.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATIONSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › MICROWAVE › BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2005-11-20 → ongoing
  • Measured byDMSP 5D-3/F16 (SSMIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 1
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • StatusCOMPLETE

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 07 is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07. All 1C products have a common L1C data structure, simple and generic. Each L1C swath includes scan time, latitude and longitude, scan status, quality, incidence angle, Sun glint angle, and the intercalibrated brightness temperature (Tc). One or more swaths are included in a product. The radiometer data are recalibrated to a common basis so that precipitation products derived from them are consistent. 1CSSMIS contains common calibrated brightness temperature from the SSMIS passive microwave instruments flown on the DMSP satellites. Swath S1 has 3 low frequency channels (19V 19H 22V). Swath S2 has 2 low frequency channels (37V 37H). Swath S3 has 4 high frequency channels (150H 183+/-1H 183+/-3H 183+/-7H). S4 has 2 high frequency channels (91V 91H). All the above frequencies are in GHz. Earth observations for all four swaths are taken during a 144o segment of the instrument rotation when SSMIS scans in the direction of foreward satellite motion. We define the spacecraft vector (v) at the center of this segment.

Get the data

gpm_1cf16ssmis_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_1CF16SSMIS",
    version="07",
    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.