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Full catalog/GPM_1CNPPATMS
GPM_1CNPPATMS·v07·dataset

Microwave brightness for weather sensing (Suomi-NPP, GPM)

GPM ATMS on SUOMI-NPP Common Calibrated Brightness Temperature L1C 1.5 hours 16 km V07 (GPM_1CNPPATMS) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 1 active
In plain English

What it measures. How warm different parts of the atmosphere and surface look to a microwave sensor, across 22 channels tuned to temperature and moisture. These brightness readings are the raw signal that weather and rain products are later built from.

How it's made. Captured by the ATMS microwave instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite, then carefully recalibrated to a common standard so it lines up with similar instruments and gives consistent results.

How & where you'd use it. A foundational input for weather forecasting and rainfall estimates. It's used mainly through the higher-level precipitation products that depend on it rather than on its own.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2011-11-08 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (ATMS)
  • 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 Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07.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. 1CATMS contains common calibrated brightness temperature from the ATMS passive microwave instrument flown on the Suomi NPP satellite and JPSS satellites. ATMS is approximately a combination of the AMSU-A channels and the MHS channels. ATMS rotates 3 scans per 8 seconds. ATMS has the following 22 channels: Ch GHz Pol 1 23.8 QV 2 31.4 QV 3 50.3 QH 4 51.76 QH 5 52.8 QH 6 53.596+-0.115 QH 7 54.4 QH 8 54.94 QH 9 55.5 QH 10 fo = 57.29 QH 11 fo+-0.3222+-0.217 QH 12 fo+-0.3222+-0.048 QH 13 fo+-0.3222+-0.022 QH 14 fo+-0.3222+-0.010 QH 15 fo+-0.3222+-0.0045 QH 16 88.2 QV 17 165.5 QH 18 183.31+-7 QH 19 183.31+-4.5 QH 20 183.31+-3 QH 21 183.31+-1.8 QH 22 183.31+-1 QH QV means quasi-vertical; the polarization vector is parallel to the scan plane at nadir. QH meansquasi-horizontal polarization. Note on geolocation and 1C swaths: The BeamLatitude and BeamLongitude in ATMSBASE have a band dimension of 5. Lat and lon is for channels 1,2,3,16,17. Each 1C swath will contain one band: 1C swath Band IEEE GHz Ch geo Chs in band 1 K 18-26.5 1 1 2 A(Ka) 26.5-40 2 2 3 W 75-110 16 16 4 G 110-300 17 17-22 Note that channels 3-15 are NOT included in the 1C product. 1C ATMS contains 4 swaths, one for each band K, A(Ka), W, and G.

Get the data

gpm_1cnppatms_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_1CNPPATMS",
    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.