Global Hydrology Resource Center(GHRC) is one of NASA's Earth Science Data Centers and is a collaboration between MSFC and University of Alabama in Huntsville.

GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Passive Microwave Radiometer and Soil Moisture-Temperature Data GCPEx

Table of Contents

Introduction
 Campaign
Instrument Description
Investigators
File Naming Convention		 Data Format
Citation
References
Contact Information

Introduction

The GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Passive Microwave Radiometer and Soil Moisture-Temperature Data GCPEx data set was collected during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) at the CARE site in Ontario, Canada during the winter season of 2011-2012. Data collected includes microwave brightness temperatures, snow temperatures, snow/ground interface temperatures, soil temperatures, and soil moisture. These data were acquired using the following instruments: a passive microwave radiometer, a water content reflectometer, thermistors, and soil moisture probes.

Campaign

The GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) occurred in Ontario, Canada during the winter season of 2011-2012. 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.

During GCPEx, the passive radiometers and soil moisture-temperature probes were located at the CARE site in Ontario, Canada. The location of the CARE site is:

Lat: 44°13'59.45"N; Lon: 79°46'50.11"W

Data was collected from December 5, 2011 through March 3, 2012.

Further details on GCPEx are available at http://gpm.nsstc.nasa.gov/gcpex. Information on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is available at http://pmm.nasa.gov/GPM.

Instrument Description

For the GCPEx campaign, brightness temperature measurements of the surface were acquired with the Environment Canada passive microwave radiometers. The table below lists the model number and specifications of each radiometer used:

Manufacturer/Model
Radiometrics AC1900
Radiometrics AC3700
Radiometrics AC8900
Frequency [GHz]
19
37
89
Bandwidth [MHz]
1000
2000
4000
Integration Time [min.]
15
15
15
Sensitivity [K]
0.04
0.03
0.08
Accuracy [K]
<2
<1
<1
Beam Width [degrees]
6
6
6
Incidence Angle [degrees]
53
53
53

Within the radiometer footprint, snow temperature, snow/ground interface temperature, soil temperature, and soil moisture measurements were also acquired. Snow temperature was measured with a three-wire temperature probe. The Campbell Scientific CS615 water content reflectometer was used to provide a measurement of volumetric water content of the soil. Campbell Scientific T107B thermistors were buried 7 centimeters into the ground and provided soil temperatures. Finally, Campbell Scientific CS 105B probes were deployed to measure ground surface temperatures.

The data log book for the GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Passive Microwave Radiometer and Soil Moisture-Temperature Data GCPEx can be viewed in the Technician's Daily log document. More information on the soil moisture and surface temperatures data can be found in the Summary and Set-up GCPEx document.

Investigators

Chris Derksen
Climate Research Division
Environment Canada
Toronto, Ontario

Peter Toose
Climate Research Division
Environment Canada
Toronto, Ontario

File Naming Convention

The GPM Ground Validation EC Passive Microwave Radiometer and Soil Moisture-Temperature Data GCPEx data file is named with the following convention:

gpm_pm_radiometer_soil_moisture_temp_201101205_20120303-EC_CARE.xlsx

where,

gpm = Global Precipitation Measurement
pm_radiometer = passive microwave radiometer
soil_moisture_temp = soil moisture temperatures
201101205 = the start date of the data (December 5, 2011)
20120303 = the end date of the data (March 3, 2012)
EC = Environment Canada
CARE = site name
xlsx = Excel spreadsheet format

Data Format

The GPM Ground Validation EC Passive Microwave Radiometer and Soil Moisture-Temperature Data GCPEx data set is available in .xlsx Excel format.

More information on the data format and units can be found in the Meta Data format document.

Citation

Our data sets are provided through the NASA Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project and the Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). GHRC DAAC is one of NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers that are part of the ESDIS project. ESDIS data are not copyrighted; however, in the event that you publish our data or results derived by using our data, we request that you include an acknowledgment within the text of the article and a citation on your reference list. Examples for general acknowledgments, data set citation in a reference listing, and crediting online web images and information can be found at: http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/uso/citation.html

References

Derksen, C., P. Toose, J. Lemmetyinen, J. Pulliainen, A. Langlois, N. Rutter and M. Fuller. 2012. Evaluation of passive microwave brightness temperature simulations and snow water equivalent retrievals through a winter season. Remote Sensing of Environment. 117: 236-248.

Contact Information

To order these data or for further information, please contact:

Global Hydrology Resource Center
User Services
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805
Phone: 256-961-7932
E-mail: ghrcdaac@itsc.uah.edu
Web: http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/