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Full catalog/PRECIP_SSMI_F15
PRECIP_SSMI_F15·v1·dataset

Rainfall estimates from a defense weather satellite (F15)

NASA MEASURES Precipitation Ensemble based on SSM/I DMSP F15 NASA PPS L1C V06 Tbs 1-orbit L2 Swath 12x12km V1 (PRECIP_SSMI_F15) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Rainfall rates in millimeters per hour, estimated along the satellite's orbit at about 12 km detail, covering 2000 to 2006. Each estimate also carries a confidence score and processing flags.

How it's made. Calculated from microwave brightness readings (how the surface and atmosphere appear to the sensor) collected by the SSM/I instrument on the US defense F15 weather satellite, using established precipitation algorithms.

How & where you'd use it. Useful for studying past rainfall patterns and for comparing different rainfall-estimation methods.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › PRECIPITATION RATE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-02-03 → 2006-08-14
  • Measured byDMSP 5D-3/F15 (SSM/I)
  • 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 Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) flown on the US Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F15 mission. 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 2000 to 2006 with one file per orbit.

Get the data

precip_ssmi_f15_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="PRECIP_SSMI_F15",
    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.