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Full catalog/GPM_PRL1KA
GPM_PRL1KA·v07·dataset

Raw radar power returned from rain (GPM Ka-band)

GPM DPR Ka-band Received Power L1B 1.5 hours 5 km V07 (GPM_PRL1KA) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 1 active
In plain English

What it measures. The strength of the radar echo that bounces back from raindrops and snow, recorded by the Ka-band channel of a precipitation radar. In plain terms, it's the raw power the radar received after pinging the sky.

How it's made. Recorded by the Ka-band of the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar on the core GPM satellite and calibrated, but kept at the early raw-signal stage before being turned into rain rates.

How & where you'd use it. A building-block input that scientists use to work out drop sizes and the melting level inside storms; most people encounter it through higher-level rainfall products rather than directly.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATIONSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › MICROWAVE › BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-03-08 → ongoing
  • Measured byGPM (GMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 1
  • 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 Older versions are no longer available and have been superseded by Version 07. This product contains the calibrated received power from the Ka-band of the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) aboard the core satellite of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. One of the reasons for adding the Ka-band frequency (35.5 GHz) channel to the DPR is to provide information on the drop-size distribution that can be obtained from non-Rayleigh scattering effects at the higher frequency. Another reason for the new Ka-band channel is to provide more accurate estimates of the phase-transition height in precipitating systems. This information is very important not only in increasing the accuracy of rain rate estimation by the DPR itself, but in improving rain estimation by passive microwave radiometers. The Ka-band Radar has a more complex scanning geometry, defined by two modes: Matched (MS) and High-sensitivity (HS). In the first type of scan (MS), the Ka Radar beams are matched to the central 25 beams of the Ku Radar, providing a swath of 120 km (within the 245km swath of the Ku Radar). In the second type of scan (HS), the Ka is operated in the high-sensitivity mode to detect light rain and snow. In this case, its beams are interlaced within the matched scan pattern, resulting in 49 cross-track beams which, however, still cover the 120-km swath.

Get the data

gpm_prl1ka_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_PRL1KA",
    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.