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SPURS-2 shipboard disdrometer data for the E. Tropical Pacific field campaign

Published by NASA/JPL/PODAAC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Metadata Last Checked: February 14, 2026 | Last Modified: 2026-02-10
The SPURS-2 raindrop ODM-470 disdrometer dataset was collected from the ship during both the 2016 and 2017 cruises. Please see file global attributes and Klepp et al. (2015, 2018) for information on the disdrometer: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.12.014, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.122 . As explained in the references and global attributes, small drops that cause voltage drops < 0.12 V (i.e. drops with diameters < 0.44 mm) cannot be distinguished from noise by this instrument, and are thus missed. This undercounting of small drops cannot be corrected, and prevents accurate estimation of DSD parameters such as Nw, D0, Dm with any confidence or precision since the minimum detectable drop size is close to the median drop size of tropical oceanic rain (Thompson et al. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-14-0206.1). Nonetheless, this dataset provides estimates of drop counts as a function of drop size for the remaining rain drops > 0.44 mm in diameter, and their associated rain rates and liquid water contents. The SPURS (Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study) project is a NASA-funded oceanographic process study and associated field program that aims to elucidate key mechanisms responsible for near-surface salinity variations in the oceans.

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