The Global Precipitation Measurement Ground Validation Experiment is the ground-based component of the GPM mission which also includes satellite data. The GPM mission is to study global rain, snow and ice to better understand our climate, weather, and hydrometeorological processes. The ground instruments include disdrometers and rain gauges. The satellite data will extend TRMM's observations of precipitation to higher latitudes with more frequent sampling. GPM will be capable of measuring rain rates as small as a hundredth of an inch per hour to as large as 4 inches an hour. GPM will be able to estimate the various sizes of precipitation particles, and will also discriminate between snow and rain. GPM will seek to achieve these measurements with a 3-hour average revisit time over 80% of the globe, and the data will be available to users within 3 hours of observation time.
The Joss-Waldvogel (JW) disdrometer is an impact-type electromechanical counter designed to measures the drop size distribution (DSD). This dataset provides rainfall data for the Global Precipitation Measurement( GPM) Mission Ground Validation Experiment collected at the National Space Science Technology Center (NSSTC), Huntsville, AL. There may be occasional gaps in the data when the instrument is not resident at the NSSTC and is sent to participate in field campaigns.
