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Full catalog/GPM_2HSLH_TRMM
GPM_2HSLH_TRMM·v07·dataset

Where storms release heat as rain forms (TRMM)

GPM PR on TRMM Spectral Latent Heating Profiles L2 1.5 hours 5 km V07 (GPM_2HSLH_TRMM) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Vertical profiles of latent heat, the heat released into the atmosphere as rain forms inside storms, estimated at different heights within tropical precipitation systems.

How it's made. Derived from the TRMM satellite's Precipitation Radar, which measures rain height, intensity, and type, matched against heating profiles from cloud-model simulations to estimate the heat released.

How & where you'd use it. Helps scientists understand how tropical storms drive atmospheric circulation and energy flow, and distinguish shallow from deep convection; a specialized research product rather than a simple rainfall map.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD DYNAMICS › HEAT FLUX

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1997-12-07 → 2015-04-01
  • Measured byTRMM (PR)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -37, 180, 37
  • 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

This a new (GPM-formated) TRMM product. There is no equivalent in the old TRMM suite of products. Version 07 is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07. Estimating vertical profiles of latent heating released by precipitating cloud systems is one of the key objectives of TRMM, together with accurately measuring the horizontal distribution of tropical rainfall. The method uses TRMM PR information [precipitation-top height (PTH), precipitation rates at the surface and melting level, and rain type] to select heating profiles from lookup tables. Heating-profile lookup tables for the three rain types—convective, shallow stratiform, and anvil rain (deep stratiform with a melting level)—were derived from numerical simulations of tropical cloud systems from the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) utilizing a cloud-resolving model (CRM). The SLH algorithm is severely limited by the inherent sensitivity of the TRMM PR. For latent heating, the quantity required is actually cloud top, but the PR can detect only precipitation-sized particles. Because observed information on precipitation depth is used in addition to precipitation type and intensity, differences between shallow and deep convection are more distinct in the SLH algorithm in comparison with the CSH algorithm.

Get the data

gpm_2hslh_trmm_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_2HSLH_TRMM",
    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.