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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 2.3 (Monthly)

Precipitation - GPCP Monthly

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The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) consists of monthly satellite-gauge and associated precipitation error estimates and covers the period January 1979 to the present. The general approach is to combine the precipitation information available from each of several satellite and in situ sources into a final merged product, taking advantage of the strengths of each data type: passive Microwave estimates are based on SSMI/SSMIS data; infrared precipitation estimates are included, using GOES data and POES data; as well as other low earth orbit data and insitu observations. Data are provided on a 2.5 degree grid.
  • Cite as: Adler, Robert; Wang, Jian-Jian; Sapiano, Matthew; Huffman, George; Chiu, Long; Xie, Ping Ping; Ferraro, Ralph; Schneider, Udo; Becker, Andreas; Bolvin, David; Nelkin, Eric; Gu, Guojun; and NOAA CDR Program (2016). Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 2.3 (Monthly). National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V56971M6 [access date]
gov.noaa.ncdc:C00979
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Distribution Formats
  • netCDF-4
    • File Specification: The NetCDF data files comply with the Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions and the NetCDF Attribute Convention for Dataset Discovery (ACDD).
Ordering Instructions Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact Customer Engagement Branch
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
1-828-271-4800
ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA CDR Program
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
+1 (828) 271-4800
gpcp_contacts@noaa.gov
Time Period 1979-01-01 to Present (time interval: 1-month)
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -180.0
East: 180.0
South: -90.0
North: 90.0
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Processing Documents
  • Source Code Package for GPCP CDR
    • CDR Source Code (download)
      This source code is for reference only. The source code is provided to maintain transparency of the algorithm and processes used in creating the Climate Data Record (CDR). The source code is not intended to be portable to any computer system(s) beyond that of the original CDR producer's environment.
  • Data Flow Diagram for GPCP Monthly CDR
  • Climate Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for Precipitation - Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly (01B-34)
Associated Resources
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2017-02-21
Edition Version 2.3
Data Presentation Form Digital image
Dataset Progress Status Ongoing - data is continually being updated
Data Update Frequency Monthly
Purpose This dataset provides scientific researchers a high quality Climate Data Record (CDR) of global precipitation, from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP).
Use Limitations
  • The quality of the output CDR data is dependent on the quality of the input data. As such, the near real-time data is labeled as an Interim operational CDR (ICDR) or preliminary CDR instead of a final CDR, indicating that it has not yet been fully vetted for climate applications. The near real-time ICDR/preliminary data will transition to final CDR status after the data have undergone further analysis and processing. The expected time lag of the final CDR transition is approximately one year. The state of a data file is indicated within each file name. See the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for a description of the use limitations for this dataset.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Adler, Robert; Wang, Jian-Jian; Sapiano, Matthew; Huffman, George; Chiu, Long; Xie, Ping Ping; Ferraro, Ralph; Schneider, Udo; Becker, Andreas; Bolvin, David; Nelkin, Eric; Gu, Guojun; and NOAA CDR Program (2016). Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 2.3 (Monthly). National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V56971M6 [access date]
Cited Authors
  • Adler, Robert
    University of Maryland
  • Wang, Jian-Jian
    University of Maryland
  • Sapiano, Matthew
    University of Maryland
  • Huffman, George
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Chiu, Long
    George Mason University
  • Xie, Ping-Ping
    NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center
  • Ferraro, Ralph
    NOAA/NESDIS/STAR
  • Schneider, Udo
    DE/DWD > Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Meteorological Service), Germany
  • Becker, Andreas
    DE/DWD > Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Meteorological Service), Germany
  • Bolvin, David
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/SSAI
  • Nelkin, Eric
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/SSAI
  • Gu, Guojun
    University of Maryland
  • NOAA CDR Program
Principal Investigators
  • Adler, Robert
    University of Maryland
Collaborators
  • Wang, Jian-Jian
    University of Maryland
  • Sapiano, Matthew
    University of Maryland
  • Huffman, George
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Chiu, Long
    George Mason University
  • Xie, Ping-Ping
    NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center
  • Ferraro, Ralph
    NOAA/NESDIS/STAR
  • Schneider, Udo
    DE/DWD > Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Meteorological Service), Germany
  • Becker, Andreas
    DE/DWD > Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Meteorological Service), Germany
  • Bolvin, David
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/SSAI
  • Nelkin, Eric
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/SSAI
  • Gu, Guojun
    University of Maryland
  • NOAA CDR Program
Publishers
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Theme keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Essential Climate Variables (ECVs)
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Precipitation
Data Center keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Platform keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords
  • Earth Observation Satellites, DMSP, MSU, AQUA, GOES, MTSat
  • GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite)
  • NOAA POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites)
  • DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program)
  • AQUA > Earth Observing System, AQUA
  • METEOSAT
  • MTSAT > Multi-functional Transport Satellite
  • GMS (Japan Geostationary Meteorological Satellite)
  • Meteorological Stations
Instrument keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
  • SSM/I > Special Sensor Microwave/Imager
  • SSMIS > Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder
  • TOVS > TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder
  • AIRS > Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
  • Rain Gauges
Place keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Geographic Region > Global
Project keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Project Keywords
  • GPCP > Global Precipitation Climatology Project
  • NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) Program
  • NOAA OneStop Project
Data Resolution keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Vertical Data Resolution Keywords
  • > 1 km
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Temporal Data Resolution Keywords
  • Weekly - < Monthly
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Horizontal Data Resolution Keywords
  • 100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees
Stratum keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Vertical Location > Land Surface
  • Vertical Location > Sea Surface
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Adler, Robert; Wang, Jian-Jian; Sapiano, Matthew; Huffman, George; Chiu, Long; Xie, Ping Ping; Ferraro, Ralph; Schneider, Udo; Becker, Andreas; Bolvin, David; Nelkin, Eric; Gu, Guojun; and NOAA CDR Program (2016). Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 2.3 (Monthly). National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V56971M6 [access date]
  • See the Use Agreement for this CDR available on the CDR page.
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Access Constraints
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Lineage Statement These data were produced through a joint effort between the University of Maryland and NASA and are archived at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The GPCP has been in existence for over twenty years as part of the Global Energy and Water Cycle Exchanges (GEWEX) effort under the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). Under the GEWEX structure GPCP reports to the GEWEX Data and Assessment Panel (GDAP), which coordinates global observational analyses of water and energy cycle variables. The overall goal of GPCP is to provide the research and applications communities with high quality global analyses of precipitation at monthly and shorter time scales for climate analysis based on a combination of satellite and ground-based data sets. The GPCP data sets have been used in over 1500 articles in scientific journals and have become a standard in the analysis of global precipitation. The GPCP Monthly product provides a consistent analysis of global precipitation from an integration of various satellite data sets over land and ocean and a gauge analysis over land (Huffman et al., 1997). Improvements to the original version have been made at irregular intervals over the past years (Adler et al., 2003; Huffman et al., 2009) with Version 2.2 being available since 2012. This new Version 2.3 has been released in 2016. The GPCP products have resulted from the efforts of a number of people and organizations, both academic and government-based, sometimes under specific funding and often on a volunteer basis.
Processor
  • University of Maryland
Processing Steps
  • Information from a number of satellite sources are blended with surface gauge analyses over land to provide a globally complete monthly analysis of surface precipitation.
    Rationale: The analysis process takes advantage of the strengths of the various satellite and in-situ data sets in a step-wise procedure to provide a best estimate for each location.
Processing Environment Generation of the GPCP Monthly analysis is accomplished using moderate-sized workstations at the University of Maryland
Processing Documents
    • Source Code Package for GPCP CDR
      • CDR Source Code (download)
        This source code is for reference only. The source code is provided to maintain transparency of the algorithm and processes used in creating the Climate Data Record (CDR). The source code is not intended to be portable to any computer system(s) beyond that of the original CDR producer's environment.
Source Datasets
  • GPCC Full Data Reanalysis Version 7 Landing Page
    • GPCC Full Data Reanalysis Version 7 Landing Page
      Source dataset used in the product of GPCP v2.3 Monthly.
    • Description of Source: GPCC Full Data Reanalysis
    • Temporal extent used: 1979-01-01 to Present
    • Spatial extent used: N:90 S:-90 E:180 W:-180
  • Globally Merged IR data
    • Globally Merged IR data
      Source dataset used in the product of GPCP v2.3 Monthly
    • Description of Source: Globally Merged IR data
    • Temporal extent used: 1986 to Present
    • Spatial extent used: N:60 S:60 E:180 W:180
  • SSMI(S) Brightness Temperature - RSS
    • SSMI(S) Brightness Temperature - RSS
      Source dataset used in the product of GPCP v2.3 Monthly
    • Description of Source: NCEI RSS SSMI/SSMIS
    • Temporal extent used: 1987 to Present
    • Spatial extent used: N:90 S:90 E:180 W:180
  • AIRS Version 6 Data
    • AIRS Version 6 Data
      Source data used in the GPCP v2.3 Monthly product
    • Description of Source: AIRS
    • Temporal extent used: 2003 to Present
    • Spatial extent used: N:90 S:90 E:180 W:180
Lineage information for: repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 - NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Last Modified: 2023-07-06
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov