BackForwardInstrument:  DPR 

Instrument details
Acronym DPR
Full name Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar
Purpose Vertical profile of precipitation
Short description Dual-frequency imaging radar, frequencies 13.6 GHz and 35.55 GHz, sensitivity 0.5 mm/h at 13.6 GHz, 0.2 mm/h at 35.55 GHz
Background Evolution of PR on TRMM
Scanning Technique Electronic scanning, planar array of 148 elements, swath 245 km at 13.6 GHz, 125 km at 35.55 GHz
Resolution Horizontal 5.0 km, vertical 250 m (blind to the lowest ~ 150 m)
Coverage / Cycle Nearly-global in 5 days, high-latitudes (> 65°) not covered
Mass 780 kg Power 710 W Data Rate 190 kbps

 

Providing Agency JAXA
Instrument Maturity Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period: 2014 to 2027
Last update: 2021-06-15
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Active and radio-occultation sensor
  • Cloud and precipitation radar
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Precipitation radars and cloud radars
  • Precipitation radar and cloud radar
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud drop effective radius
  • Cloud ice
  • Cloud ice Total Column
  • Cloud ice effective radius
  • Cloud liquid water (CLW)
  • Cloud liquid water (CLW) total column
  • Freezing level height in clouds
  • Melting layer depth in clouds
  • Precipitation (liquid or solid)
  • Precipitation intensity at surface (liquid or solid)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Accumulated precipitation (over 24 h)4 - fairPoor time sampling.. Time sampling to be interpolated by GEO.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar. Sensitive to both liquid and solid precipitation
Cloud drop effective radius*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar for large and small drops
Cloud ice*4 - fairNo specific limitation.Ku- and Ka-band radar for large and small particles
Cloud ice Total Column*4 - fairNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar for large and small particles
Cloud ice effective radius*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar for large and small particles
Cloud liquid water (CLW)*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar for large and small drops
Cloud liquid water (CLW) total column*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar for large and small drops
Freezing level height in clouds*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar. Detected as "bright-band"
Melting layer depth in clouds*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar. Detected as "bright-band"
Precipitation (liquid or solid)*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar for medium and large drops and ice particles
Precipitation intensity at surface (liquid or solid)*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Ku-band (around 13 GHz) and Ka-band (around 35 GHz) radar. Sensitive to both heavy and light, liquid and solid precipitation