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Full catalog/TRMM_2A12
TRMM_2A12·v7·dataset

Rain and ice profiles inside storms (TRMM)

TRMM Microwave Imager Hydrometeor Profile L2 1.5 hours V7 (TRMM_2A12) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Estimates of rainfall at the surface and vertical profiles of water and ice inside storms - cloud water, rain, cloud ice, falling ice, and the heat released as rain forms - layer by layer through the atmosphere.

How it's made. Derived from microwave brightness measurements by the TRMM Microwave Imager, using the Goddard Profiling algorithm to match each pixel to one of 100 typical storm structures.

How & where you'd use it. Useful for studying tropical storms and the inner workings of rainfall, though note this version has been superseded by a newer GPM-format product.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › CONDENSATION › LATENT HEATINGATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › EVAPORATION › LATENT HEATINGATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › SUBLIMATION › LATENT HEATINGATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD LIQUID WATER/ICEATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD PRECIPITABLE WATERATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › LIQUID WATER EQUIVALENTATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › PRECIPITATION RATEATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › LIQUID PRECIPITATION › RAINATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › HEAT FLUX › LATENT HEATING

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1997-12-31 → 2015-04-08
  • Measured byTRMM (TMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -38, 180, 38
  • 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 new version of these data is in GPM-like format and can be found under the name GPM_2AGPROFTRMMTMI_CLIM. This dataset, 2A12, ”TMI Profiling”, generates surface rainfall and vertical hydrometeor profiles on a pixel by pixel basis from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) brightness temperature data using the Goddard Profiling algorithm GPROF2010. Because the vertical information comes from a radiometer, it is not written out in independent vertical layers like the TRMM Precipitation Radar. Instead, the output is referenced to one of 100 typical structures for each hydrometeor or heating profile. These vertical structures are referenced as clusters in the output structure. Vertical hydrometeor profiles can be reconstructed to 28 layers by knowing the cluster number (i.e. shape) of the profile and a scale factor that is written for each pixel. This product contains hydrometeor profiles of cloud liquid water, precipitation water, cloud ice water, precipitation ice, rainfall type, and latent heating in 28 atmospheric layers. Changes in horizontal resolution resulting from the TRMM boost that occurred on 24 August 2001: Pre-Boost (before 7 August 2001): Temporal Resolution: 91.5 min/orbit ~ 16 orbits/day; Swath Width: 760 km; Horizontal Resolution: 4.4 km Post-Boost (after 24 August 2001): Temporal Resolution: 92.5 min/orbit ~ 16 orbits/day; Swath Width: 878 km; Horizontal Resolution: 5.1 km

Get the data

trmm_2a12_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="TRMM_2A12",
    version="7",
    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.