MC3E

The GPM Ground Validation NASA S-Band Dual Polarimetric (NPOL) Doppler Radar MC3E dataset (previously published) has added files classifying hydrometeors (e.g. rain, drizzle, hail, ice crystals, wet or dry snow, graupel density) to the existing UF files measuring Doppler velocity and radar reflectivity. The new files, named HID, were created by processing UF files with the Colorado State University (CSU) Hydrometeor Identification Algorithm (HID). The NPOL HID file inventory will be updated as new files are received.

GHRC published two similar datasets associated with the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ground Validation program: GPM Ground Validation Composite Satellite Overpasses MC3E and GPM Ground Validation Composite Satellite Overpasses GCPEX. Each of these datasets provide data from satellite overpasses of the study region for the mission Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), Oklahoma 2011, or the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx), Canada 2012. The radiometric data was matched up with other datasets necessary to carry out land surface emissivity studies. These other datasets include the NEXRAD NMQ radar mosaic for knowledge of rain structure and intensity at the time of the overpass, as well as the previous accumulated precipitation prior to the satellite overpass time), the NOAA IMS snow mapping system (to identify surface snow or ice cover), and the NASA/GMAO MERRA land and atmospheric reanalysis (for background land and atmospheric state needed for microwave radiative transfer calculations). The AQUA satellite overpasses were used for MC3E and SSMIS for GCPEX, passing within 700-km of the central field site.

GHRC published guide document for the GPM Ground Validation Flight Summaries and Flight Tracks Imagery MC3E dataset.  This dataset includes sonde maps, a radar animation, parameter versus time charts, radar track graphs, and a summary including aircraft and instrument operational times. The dataset is available as an individual dataset, and it is automatically distributed when a user orders navigation datasets for either the University of North Dakota Citation or the NASA- ER-2.

GHRC has completed guide documentation for several previously published datasets from GPM Ground Validation campaigns.  These datasets are: GPM Ground Validation Composite Satellite Overpasses GCPEx and GPM Ground Validation Composite Satellite Overpasses MC3E.  These composite satellite overpass datasets contain radiometric data from satellites the campaign study area (SSMIS for GCPEx and AQUA for MC3E) matched with other datasets to carry out land surface emissivity studies.  The other datasets included the NEXRAD NMQ radar mosaic, the NOAA IMS and the NASA/GMAO MERRA.  The NEXRAD NMQ radar mosaic provided knowledge of rain structure and intensity at the time of the overpass, as well as the previous accumulated precipitation prior to the satellite overpass time.  The NOAA IMS provided a snow mapping system to identify surface snow or ice cover.  The NASA/GMAO MERRA  provided data for land and atmospheric reanalysis for background land and atmospheric state needed for microwave radiative transfer calculations. The identified SSMIS and AQUA satellites overpasses passed within 700-km of the central field site.  GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) took place in Ontario, Canada, January 15, 2012 through February 29, 2012 and the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) took place in central Oklahoma April 22 - June 5, 2011.  GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Micro Rain Radar (MRR) GCPEx.  The MRR is a vertically pointing Doppler radar perating at 24 GHz which retrieved quantitative rain rates, drop size distributions, radar reflectivity, and fall velocities on vertical profiles up to several kilometers above the unit during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) in Ontario, Canada, winter 2012. The MRR used during GCPEX is the second generation of the instrument manufactured by METEK (URL: http://www.metek.de/product-details/mrr-2.html). GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Visibility Sensor FD12P and Present Weather Detector GCPEx. Data was collected January 15 through March 1, 2012 in Huronia, Canada for the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx). The FD12P combines the functions of a forward scatter visibility meter and a present weather detector and specifies visibility in one and ten minute averages. Weather conditions are specified using codes by National Weather System and the World Meteorological Organization. The dataset also measures the intensity and the amount of both liquid and solid precipitation. GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Web Camera Images GCPEx.  Data was collected by fixed outdoor cameras at five sites in Ontario, Canada during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) in winter 2012.  The AXIS P1343-E network camera has day/night functionality with an automatically controlled IR filter, adapting to both daylight and dark lighting conditions. These images provide visual records of the weather conditions at the site throughout the day.

GHRC published two GOES Imagery datasets: GPM Ground Validation GOES 13 Visible and Infrared Images MC3E and GPM Ground Validation GOES 13 Visible and Infrared Images GCPEx. These GOES datasets include IR3, IR4, and visiblity imagery files collected at 15 minute intervals in near real-time during the mission and were used by the Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM). The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) took place in central Oklahoma and has files available for dates between May 6, 2011 and June 30, 2011. The GPM Cold-Season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) occurred in Ontario, Canada, and has files available for dates between January 1, 2012 and March 13, 2012.

GHRC has published the GPM Ground Validation Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) MC3E dataset. The Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) is an integrated in-cloud (IC) lightning and cloud-to-ground (CG) detection network deployed on a global basis capable of detecting long range in-cloud lightning at high efficiencies critical for the advanced prediction of severe weather phenomena. This dataset consists of a subset of data for the period of the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), 1 April 2011 - 15 June 2011.

GHRC has released a Guide supporting two similar datasets for the GCPEX and MC3E campaigns: GPM Ground Validation NCAR Cloud Microphysics Particle Probes. Both datasets provide data from three instrument probes carried aboard the University of North Dakota (UND) Cessna Citation aircraft. These probes, the 2D-C, Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP) and High Volume Precipitation Spectrometer (HVPS-3), collected particle size distributions and particle images which were processed by NCAR. Derived parameters include ice water content, liquid water content, and total number concentration. The GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) took place in Ontario, Canada during the winter season of 2011-2012, and the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) occurred in central Oklahoma during the April-June 2011.

GHRC has updated the GPM Ground Validation UND Citation Cloud Microphysics MC3E dataset with corrections of the vertical wind component and liquid water content files for data obtained while flying in ice crystals and mixed phase atmospheric conditions. These measurements were made from a suite of in situ instruments located on the University of North Dakota (UND) Cessna Citation aircraft, an airborne platform for the MC3E campaign.

GHRC published six GPM Ground Validation NEXRAD MC3E radar datasets. These data were collected from April 22, 2011 to June 6, 2011 for the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) which took place in central Oklahoma. Radar sites include KGLD, KICT, KINX, KTLX, KTWX, KVNX. The Next Generation Weather Radar system (NEXRAD) comprises 159 Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) sites throughout the United States and select overseas locations. The GPM Ground Validation NEXRAD MC3E data files are available as tarred binary files.