A dataset of tracked mesoscale precipitation systems in the tropics

Russell, James (author), Rajagopal, Manikandan (author), Veals, Peter (author), Skok, Gregor (author), Zipser, Edward (author), Tinoco-Morales, Michell (author)

Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) are often quantified via surface-basedradar network, geostationary satellite, or low earth orbit satellite observations.However, each of these has drawbacks for detecting cloud systems such as alack of global coverage, a lack of variables to quantify deep convective cloudand precipitation properties, and a lack of continuous observations of individualMCSs, respectively. To generate a dataset of tropical Tracked IMERG MesoscalePrecipitation Systems (TIMPS), we use the Forward in Time tracking algorithmto track precipitation systems in the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for theGlobal Precipitation Mission (IMERG). IMERG is a global gridded precipitationproduct that incorporates observations from a constellation of satellites with pas-sive microwave sensors and other sources, allowing the TIMPS dataset to havecontinuous temporal precipitation information for MCSs in a global tropical stripwith data every 30 min in time and 0.1° in space. TIMPS are provided in a pub-licly available data base with a variety of variables including MCS size, motion,and precipitation properties, estimations of MCS life cycle stages, and their prox-imity to the nearest tropical cyclone. By combining the TIMPS dataset with theUniversity of Washington Convective Features database, we also provide snap-shots of information from more spatially detailed space-borne radar coverage.The TIMPS dataset provides the means for detailed long-term and large- scalestudy of MCSs in all regions of the tropics with applications such as compositestudies of MCS life cycles and the evaluation of model performance.

• Language: English
• Keywords: meteorology, precipitation, convection
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 15 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 12, iss. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167811
• UDC: 551.515
• ISSN on article: 2049-6060
• DOI: 10.1002/gdj3.275
• COBISS.SI-ID: 220873475
• Publication date in RUL: 13.03.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Geoscience data journal
• Shortened title: Geosci. data j.
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Royal Meteorological Society
• ISSN: 2049-6060
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523103257

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: meteorologija, padavine, konvekcija