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Full catalog/PRECIP_AMSRE_AQUA
PRECIP_AMSRE_AQUA·v1·dataset

Rainfall estimated from microwave readings (Aqua)

NASA MEASURES Precipitation Ensemble based on AMSRE AQUA NASA PPS L1C V05 Tbs 1-orbit L2 Swath 12x12km V1 (PRECIP_AMSRE_AQUA) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Estimates of rainfall rate (in millimeters per hour) over the globe, along with a confidence score for each estimate.

How it's made. Calculated from how warm the surface and atmosphere look to the AMSR-E microwave instrument on the Aqua satellite, using established rainfall algorithms, with one file per orbit covering 2002 to 2011.

How & where you'd use it. Studying precipitation patterns and supporting climate research, with the included confidence scores helping users judge reliability.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › PRECIPITATION RATE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2002-06-01 → 2011-10-04
  • Measured byAqua (AMSR-E)
  • 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

The data presented in this level 2 orbital product are rain rate estimates expressed as mm/hour determined from brightness temperatures (Tbs) obtained from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-E (AMSR-E) flown on the AQUA satellite. Most of the products generated in this data set are based upon the algorithms developed for the 3rd Algorithm Intercomparison Project (AIP-3) of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Details of these 15 algorithms and development of a quality score which is a measure of confidence in the estimate, along with processing and algorithmic flags, can be found in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD). The data in this product cover the period from 2002 to 2011 with one file per orbit.

Get the data

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="PRECIP_AMSRE_AQUA",
    version="1",
    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.