Global Precipitation Measurement - Ground Validation

The NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) Ground Validation (GV) program as a member of the broader NASA Precipitation Measurement Mission is providing ground and airborne precipitation datasets supporting physical validation of satellite-based precipitation retrieval algorithms.

The ITSC supports GPM-GV during all three phases of pre-mission, mission, and post-mission by providing a collaborative portal for communications between instrument teams, scientists and managers. Data from many missions are archived and distributed by the Global Hydrology Resource Center.

Since 2010 the ITSC has supported the following missions:

• The Light Precipitation Evaluation Experiment (LPVEx), Gulf of Finland in autumn 2010, to study rainfall in high latitude environments
• The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), central Oklahoma spring and early summer 2011, to develop a complete characterization of convective cloud systems, precipitation and the environment
• The GPM Cold Season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx), Ontario, Canada winter of 2011-2012, collected in situ and remote sensing observations, and coordinated model simulations of precipitating snow
• The Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) hydrology-oriented experiment, Iowa, spring and early summer 2013, to study the relative roles of rainfall quantities and other factors in flood genesis
• Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx), North Carolina Appalachians/Piedmont region in May-June 2014, for hydrologic validation over varied topography
• Olympic Mountains Ground Validation Experiment (OLYMPEX), Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in Nov-Dec 2015, for hydrologic validation in extreme coastal and topographic gradients
• International Collaborative Experiment for PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympics (ICE-POP), South Korea in February - March 2018, focus on the measurement, physics, and improved prediction of heavy orographic snow