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Full catalog/GPM_2HSLH
GPM_2HSLH·v07·dataset

Where storms release heat, by altitude (GPM radar, 5 km)

GPM DPR Spectral Latent Heating Profiles L2 1.5 hours 5 km V07 (GPM_2HSLH) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. Where storms are releasing heat in the atmosphere and at what altitudes, as water vapor condenses into rain. It maps the hidden heating that powers tropical and mid-latitude weather systems.

How it's made. Calculated from rainfall measured by the radar on the GPM satellite, run through algorithms tuned separately for the tropics and mid-latitudes.

How & where you'd use it. Helps scientists understand how storms drive atmospheric circulation and improves weather and climate models. It is a specialized product mostly used by researchers.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-03-08 → ongoing
  • Measured byGPM (DPR)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • 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 6B of these data were introduced in July, 2020. Please, see documentation tab for release notes. Latent heating variables are retrieved utilizing two separate algorithms for tropics and for mid-latitudes. First, location of each GPM KuPR pixel is assigned to either tropics or mid-latitudes, depending on monthly maps of precipitation types determined in a similar manner as described in Takayabu (2008). Then, three dimensional convective latent heating are retrieved, Q1-QR (Q1R), and Q2, applying either tropical/mid-latitude algorithms to precipitation data observed from GPM DPR (KuPR). Here, Q1 and Q2 are apparent heat source and apparent moisture sink, respectively, introduced by Yanai et al. (1973), and QR is radiative heating of the atmosphere.

Get the data

gpm_2hslh_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_2HSLH",
    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.