The GPM Ground Validation NASA ER-2 Navigation Data IPHEx dataset was gathered during the GPM Ground Validation Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) in North Carolina. The ER-2 Aircraft flew during the IPHEx field campaign to aid in GPM validation. The science instruments onboard the aircraft acted as a proxy for GPM satellite instruments. Twenty-one ER-2 flights occurred during May 1, 2014 through June 14, 2014. The dataset consists of navigation data, as well as meteorological parameters collected by an on-board navigation recorder every second of the flight. The data are available in ASCII and XML formats.

The GPM Ground Validation DC-8 Navigation and Housekeeping Data GCPEx dataset, which is composed of two types of files. GCPEx addressed shortcomings in the GPM snowfall retrieval algorithm by collecting microphysical properties, associated remote sensing observations, and coordinated model simulations of precipitating snow. National Suborbital Education and Research Center (NSERC) of the University of North Dakota (UND) provided geo-located housekeeping data containing attributes, such as altitude, pressure, air speed, and wind speed. The NASA DC-8 Navigation data in comma delimited IWG1 format were collected and utilized in-flight during the GCPEx mission and retrieved from the Real-Time Mission Monitor. Both file types are available for most of the dataset dates, however please note that there are a few dates where only the IWG1 formatted data is available.

The GPM Ground Validation NOAA UHF 449 Profiler MC3E dataset was collected during the NASA supported Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). The overarching goal was to provide the most complete characterization of convective cloud systems, precipitation, and the environment that has ever been obtained, providing constraints for model cumulus parameterizations and space-based rainfall retrieval algorithms over land that had never before been available. The Ultra High Frequency 449 MHz profiler was one of three NOAA deployed instruments which also included a Parsivel and a 2.8 GHz profiler (S-Band). The 449 MHz profiler raw data files provide estimates of the vertical air motion during precipitation from near the surface to just below the freezing level. Used together with the S-band profiler, vertical profiles of raindrop size distributions can be retrieved. The raw 449MGx profiler data consists of uncalibrated Doppler velocity spectra data in units of relative power return.

The GPM Ground Validation UND Citation Navigation Data IPHEx dataset supplies navigation data collected by the Cessna Citation II aircraft for flights that occurred during March 6, 2014 through June 13, 2014 for the Global Precipitation Measurement Ground Validation Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) field campaign in North Carolina. The goal of IPHEx was to evaluate the accuracy of satellite precipitation measurements and use the collected data for hydrology models in the region. The Cessna Citation II Research aircraft, owned and operated by the University of North Dakota (UND), participated in the IPHEx field campaign by serving as an in situ microphysics sampling platform. This navigation dataset consists of final processed files containing records that include flight time, aircraft location (latitude, longitude, and altitude), air temperature, wind speed, and other relevant aircraft parameters in ASCII format.

The GPM Ground Validation Kumpula Mast Meteorological Data LPVEx dataset is comprised of temperature, radiation, and wind measurements collected by the Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations III (SMEAR III) Kumpula Mast in Helsinki, Finland. This occurred during the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Light Precipitation Validation Experiment (LPVEx) field campaign. This field campaign took place around the Gulf of Finland, aiming to provide additional high-latitude, light rainfall measurements for the improvement of GPM satellite precipitation algorithms. These meteorological dataset files are available from September 17 through October 21, 2010 in ASCII text format.

The GPM Ground Validation UND Citation Navigation Data GCPEx V2 dataset was collected by the Cessna Citation II Research, which was aircraft, owned, and operated by the University of North Dakota (UND), participated in the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) by serving as an in situ microphysics sampling platform. GCPEx addressed shortcomings in the GPM snowfall retrieval algorithm by collecting microphysical properties associated remote sensing observations, and coordinated model simulations of precipitating snow. These data sets were collected to aid in the achievement Data User Guide of the overarching goal of GCPEx, which is to characterize the ability of multi-frequency active and passive microwave sensors to detect and estimate falling snow. The GCPEx navigation data set collected wind speed amongst several other parameters. It would also be beneficial to list the other parameters it collected.

The GPM Ground Validation NOAA Surface Meteorological Station MC3E dataset was collected at the NOAA Southern Great Plains Facility for the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) and includes measurements of wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity and precipitation. The overarching goal was to provide the most complete characterization of convective cloud systems, precipitation, and the environment that has ever been obtained, providing constraints for model cumulus parameterizations and space-based rainfall retrieval algorithms over land that had never before been available. The instruments gathering this data were respectively a propeller wind monitor located 10 meters above the ground, a temperature and humidity sensor at the ground, and a tipping rain gauge at the ground. These data were collected from April 5, 2011 to June 7, 2011.

The GPM Ground Validation NOAA Parsivel MC3E dataset was collected in central Oklahoma during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) from April 5, 2011 through June 6, 2011. The NOAA Parsivel dataset includes processed data consisting of either moment data (e.g., reflectivity and rain rate estimates) or raindrop number concentration estimates; the data provided a reference reflectivity to calibrate the S-band profiler during the experiment. The moment data includes 1-minute resolution estimates of rain rate, reflectivity, and other parameters related to the health of the Parsivel instrument. The raindrop number concentration data are also at 1-minute resolution and are the result of converting the observed raindrop passing the sensor into the number of raindrops expected in a unit volume per diameter interval. Both the moment data and the number concentration data were saved in daily files in ASCII format. Daily images were also generated from the Parsivel observations and contain the 1-minute reflectivity, rain rate, and number concentration N(D); browse images are saved in TIF format.

The GPM Ground Validation NASA ER-2 Navigation Data OLYMPEX dataset supplies navigation data collected by the NASA ER-2 aircraft for flights that occurred during November 9, 2015 through December 15, 2015 for one of the GPM Ground Validation field campaigns called the Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX). This navigation dataset consists of multiple altitude, pressure, temperature parameters, airspeed, and ground speed measurements in ASCII, ASCII-IWG1, and XML data file formats.