Evaluating rainfall and graupel retrieval performance of the NASA TROPICS pathfinder through the NOAA MiRS system

Abstract

The NASA TROPICS mission encompasses a constellation of CubeSats equipped with microwave radiometers, dedicated to investigating tropical meteorology and storm systems. In a departure from traditional microwave sounders, the TROPICS Microwave Sounder (TMS) employs new frequencies at F-band near 118 GHz and features an additional G-band channel at 205 GHz. We have expanded the capabilities of the Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MiRS), a state-of-the-art one-dimensional variational (1DVAR) algorithm, for the retrieval of geophysical variables with the TROPICS Pathfinder early-phase data. Here we focus on assessing the retrieved precipitation in terms of rainfall and graupel. TROPICS captures well the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of Hurricane Ida and Super Typhoon Mindulle. TROPICS depicted the eyewall replacement cycle of Mindulle as it weakened and reintensified. The global precipitation distribution and dynamics are well represented by TROPICS. We compare TROPICS with other precipitation datasets, including Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) products. For example, when compared with GMI, MiRS TROPICS instantaneous precipitation yields a correlation coefficient of 0.5 and an RMSE of 2.0 mm/h. For graupel, MiRS TROPICS retrievals show a correlation of 0.52 and an RMSE of 0.53 kg/m². The retrieval performance is comparable to other sensors such as the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), while the higher number of channels of ATMS, including its low-frequency channels serve to better constrain retrievals. TMS observes at higher spectral frequencies than the coincident ATMS channels, showing higher sensitivity to rainfall and graupel. The TMS high-frequency channels and lower orbit allow for greater resolution of precipitation features, while lower-frequency ATMS channels excel at resolving hurricane warm-core structures. The results underscore the value of the TROPICS mission for precipitation measurement and demonstrate the successful integration of TROPICS processing capability within the MiRS retrieval algorithm framework.