Air, rain and surface conditions from space (NOAA-20)
What it measures. A range of atmospheric and surface conditions pulled from microwave readings, including profiles of temperature, water in all its forms (vapor, cloud, rain, ice), and surface properties, in all weather.
How it's made. Generated by the RAMSES II algorithm from the ATMS microwave sounder on the NOAA-20 (JPSS-1) satellite, which scans across its track in 22 channels and works even through clouds.
How & where you'd use it. Supports weather analysis and forecasting and studies of the atmosphere and precipitation, especially valuable because it returns results in cloudy conditions.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span2017-12-01 → ongoing
- Measured byNOAA-20 (ATMS)
- Processing levelLevel 2
- Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
- StatusACTIVE
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 level 2 product is generated by the RAMSES (Retrieval Algorithm for Microwave Sounders in Earth Science II algorithm.The RAMSES II algorithm is a microwave only retrieval algorithm using observations from the NOAA-20 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) also know as Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument. The ATMS instrument used for this product is a cross-track scanner with 22 channels in spectral bands from 23 GHz through 183 GHz. The RAMSES II Level-2 retrieval products contain a variety of geophysical parameters retrieved from ATMS measurements, including profiles of temperature, water in all phases as well as surface properties for six minutes of instrument observation at a time. The RAMSES II algorithm doesn't have a cloud clearing process and produces all weather retrieval A level 2 granule has been set as 6 minutes of data. There are 240 granules per day, with an orbit repeat cycle of approximately 16 day.
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="SNDRJ1ML2RMS",
version="3",
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. Official links
- Access the data via HTTPS. GET DATA
- Access the data via the OPeNDAP protocol. USE SERVICE API
- README Document VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- ATBD VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Test Report VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Use the Earthdata Search to find and retrieve data sets across multiple data centers. GET DATA