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Full catalog/SNDRSNML2RMS
SNDRSNML2RMS·v3·dataset

Atmosphere, rain and surface state (Suomi-NPP ATMS)

Sounder SIPS: Suomi NPP ATMS Level 2 RAMSES2 Standard: Atmosphere, precipitation and surface geophysical state, V3 (SNDRSNML2RMS ) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. Profiles of atmospheric temperature and water in all its forms (vapor, liquid, ice), plus precipitation and surface conditions, retrieved over six-minute chunks of orbit.

How it's made. Generated by the RAMSES II algorithm using only microwave observations from the ATMS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite, which can see through clouds in all weather.

How & where you'd use it. Useful for weather analysis and studying the atmosphere's temperature and moisture structure, including in cloudy and rainy conditions.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE › SURFACE PRESSUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE › SURFACE TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE › SURFACE TEMPERATURE › AIR TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE › UPPER AIR TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR INDICATORS › LAYERED PRECIPITABLE WATERATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR INDICATORS › TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATERATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROFILESLAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › SKIN TEMPERATUREOCEANS › OCEAN TEMPERATURE › SEA SURFACE TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › LIQUID WATER EQUIVALENTATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR INDICATORS › HUMIDITY › RELATIVE HUMIDITYATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR INDICATORS › HUMIDITY › SPECIFIC HUMIDITY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2011-12-10 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (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 Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) 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

sndrsnml2rms_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="SNDRSNML2RMS",
    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.