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Full catalog/GPM_3HCSH_TRMM
GPM_3HCSH_TRMM·v07·dataset

Where rain heats the air over the tropics, monthly (GPM/TRMM)

GPM PR and TMI on TRMM Combined Convective-Stratiform Latent Heating Profiles L3 1 month 0.25x0.25 degree V07 (GPM_3HCSH_TRMM) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 3
In plain English

What it measures. Monthly maps showing where falling rain releases heat into the air over the tropics (latent heating), and how that heating is distributed at different altitudes, at quarter-degree resolution.

How it's made. Estimated from the TRMM satellite's precipitation radar and microwave imager, which feed rain-type and intensity data into lookup tables of heating profiles built from cloud simulations.

How & where you'd use it. Helps scientists understand how tropical rainfall drives atmospheric circulation and energy, useful for weather and climate modeling.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD DYNAMICS › HEAT FLUX

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1997-12-01 → 2015-04-30
  • Measured byTRMM (PR, TMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -67, 180, 67
  • 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 is the new (GPM-formated) TRMM product. It replaces the old TRMM legacy TRMM_3H31 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 Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07.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 CSH 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 CSH algorithm in comparison with the CSH algorithm. Monthly Spectral Latent Heating produces 0.25x0.25 degree grid of latent heating profiles from the TRMM PR rain. The grids are in the Planetary Grid 2 structure matching the Dual-frequency PR on the core GPM observatory that covers 67S to 67N degrees of latitudes. Areas beyond the ±40 degrees of latitudes are padded with empty grid cells.

Get the data

gpm_3hcsh_trmm_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_3HCSH_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.