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Full catalog/GPM_2AGPROFGPMGMI
GPM_2AGPROFGPMGMI·v07·dataset

How much rain is falling and where (GPM)

GPM GMI (GPROF) Radiometer Precipitation Profiling L2A 1.5 hours 13 km V07 (GPM_2AGPROFGPMGMI) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. Estimates of how much rain or snow is falling and the vertical structure of precipitation in clouds, derived from microwave readings as the satellite passes over.

How it's made. Produced by the GPROF algorithm, which takes the microwave brightness readings from the GMI sensor on the GPM satellite (and partner sensors) and matches them against a reference library of rain profiles to pick the best fit.

How & where you'd use it. Used to track storms, study global rainfall patterns, and support weather and climate work; its big strength is broad sampling across many sensors for wide coverage.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-03-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byGPM (GMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -70, 180, 70
  • 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 Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07. The 2AGPROF (Goddard Profiling) algorithm retrieves consistent precipitation and related science fields from the following GMI and partner passive microwave sensors: + TMI (TRMM) + GMI, (GPM) + SSMI (DMSP F15), SSMIS (DMSP F16, F17, F18, F19) + AMSR2 (GCOM-W1) + MHS (NOAA 18,19) + MHS (METOP A,B) + ATMS (NPP) + SAPHIR (MT1) This provides the bulk of the 3-hour coverage achieved by GPM. For each sensor, there are nearrealtime (NRT) products, standard products, and climate products. These differ only in the amount of data that are available within 3 hours, 48 hours, and 3 months of collection, as well as the ancillary data used. The NRT product uses GANAL forecast fields. Standard products use the GANAL analysis product, while the climate product uses ECMWF reanalysis in order to allow for consistent data records with earlier missions. These earlier data may be archived separately. The main strength of the product is the large sampling provided. The GPM radiometer algorithms are Bayesian-type algorithms. These algorithms search an apriori database of potential rain profiles and retrieve a weighted average of these entries based upon the proximity of the observed brightness temperature (Tb) to the simulated Tb corresponding to each rain profile. By using the same a-priori database of rain profiles, with appropriate simulated Tb for each constellation sensor, the Bayesian method is completely parametric and thus well suited for GPM's constellation approach. The a-priori information will be supplied by the combined algorithm supplied by GPM's core satellite as soon after launch as feasible. Databases for V0 of the algorithm had to be constructed from various sources as described in the ATBD. The solution provides a mean rain rate as well as the vertical structure of cloud and precipitation hydrometeors and their uncertainty.

Get the data

gpm_2agprofgpmgmi_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_2AGPROFGPMGMI",
    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.