The GPM Ground Validation Duke Microwave Radiometer (MWR) IPHEx dataset consists of data collected by the MWR, which is a sensitive microwave radiometer that detects the microwave radiances at two frequencies: 23.8 and 31.4 GHz. The measurements are are used to determine the presence of vapor and liquid water molecules in the atmosphere along with other derived parameters. These data were obtained during the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) field experiment, which was held in North Carolina with the goal to characterize warm season orographic precipitation regimes and the relationship between precipitation regimes and hydrologic processes in regions of complex terrain. These data are available for May 1, 2014 through June 15, 2014 and are in netCDF-3 format.

GPM GV Parsivel UConn

The GPM Ground Validation Vaisala Ceilometer IPHEx dataset consists of vertical profiles of attenuated backscatter and cloud base and boundary layer height data gathered during the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Ground Validation Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) 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 during an intense study period from May 1 through June 15, 2014. This dataset includes data from the Vaisala Ceilometer CL51 which is part of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Aerosol-Cloud-Humidity Interactions Exploring and Validating Enterprise (ACHIEVE) ground-based mobile laboratory. It measures vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter and performs a retrieval of cloud base detection and boundary layer structure. The data files are available from May 6 through June 16, 2014 in netCDF-3 format.

The GPM Ground Validation NASA Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU) IPHEx dataset was acquired by multiple parsivel instruments during the GPM Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx), which took place in western North Carolina. IPHEx sought to characterize warm season orographic precipitation regimes, and the relationship between precipitation regimes and hydrologic processes in regions of complex terrain. The APU, an optical disdrometer based on single particle extinction, measures particle size, and fall velocity. ASCII encoded data files contain information on the drop size distribution and integral precipitation parameters such as precipitation rate, reflectivity, and mass-weighted mean diameter.

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 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 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 Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU) GCPEx dataset was collected by the Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU), which is an optical disdrometer that measures the size and fall velocity of single precipitation particles. The APU consists of the Parsivel (the precipitation measuring instrument), developed by OTT in Germany, and its support systems, which were designed and built by the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (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 of the over arching goal of GCPEx which is to characterize the ability of multi-frequency active and passive microwave sensors to detect and estimate falling snow. The APU dataset for GCPEx provides precipitation data including raindrop size, raindrop counts, precipitation drop size, precipitation rate, precipitation amount, and snowflake size, counts and distribution. The GCPEx APU data was collected from several sites in Canada during the Winter 2011-2012 period.