Dataset Overview

Dataset Overview#

The SatRain dataset provides paired satellite observations with corresponding surface precipitation rate estimates derived from ground-based radar and rain gauges. Training and validation sets are composed of fixed-size scenes and are available on two spatial grids: a 0.036° regular latitude–longitude grid (gridded) and the native sampling of the passive microwave sensors (on-swath).

Testing data is also provided in both gridded and on-swath formats, but instead of fixed-size scenes it consists of full overpass scenes of irregular extent.

All training, validation, and testing data are stored in separate files for each input type (ATMS, GMI, Geo, Geo-IR, ancillary data, time-resolved Geo, time-resolved Geo-IR) and for the precipitation reference. File names follow the pattern <prefix>_YYYYmmddHHMMSS.nc, where <prefix> identifies the data type (gmi, atms, geo, geo_t, geo_ir, geo_ir_t, ancillary, target) and YYYYmmddHHMMSS denotes the median scan time of the corresponding PMW observation. Files belonging to the same scene can be matched by their shared timestamp.

Organization#

SatRain is organized to balance ease of use with flexibility for a wide range of retrieval scenarios. The dataset hierarchy is defined along several dimensions (base sensor, split, subset, geometry, and data source) allowing users to access only the data needed for their use case.

Table 1 SatRain data organization#

Configuration name

Possible values

Significance

Base sensor

gmi, atms

The PMW sensor whose CONUS overpasses form the dataset’s foundation

Split

training, validation, testing

Partitioning into training, validation, and testing data.

Subset

xs, s, m, l, xl

The training and validation datasets are split into size-based subsets for users who wish to get started with smaller datasets or assess the scaling of ML models.

Domain

austria, conus, korea

The testing data is available from three domains: Austria, CONUS, and Korea

Geometry

on_swath, gridded

Native spatial sampling (on-swath) or regridded to a regular 0.036° latitude-longitude grid

Data source

gmi, atms, geo, geo_t, geo_ir, geo_ir_t, ancillary, target

Different input data sources and precipitation reference data (target).

Base sensor#

The SatRain dataset comprises two independent sub-datasets: the first one generated from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) sensor, and the second one generated from overpasses of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS). The GMI and ATMS-based subsets are completely independent subsets. The two sensors are included here to allow testing of algorithms on both a dedicated precipitation sensor (GMI) and a microwave sounding instrument not primarily designed for precipitation remote sensing (ATMS).

Due to the larger swath width of ATMS, the gridded dataset is considerably larger. Users who wish to train retrievals based on geostationary sensors on as much data as possible, are therefore advised to use the atms subset.

Gridded and on-swath geometries#

The SatRain data are provided on both on-swath and gridded coordinate systems. Here, on-swath refers to the native, 2D scan pattern of the sensor, which is organized into scans and pixels, wheras gridded designates the observations remappted to a regular longitude-latitude grid with a resolution of 0.036°.

SatRain supports both of these geometries to allow greater flexibility in the design of the retrieval algorithm. Traditionally, many currently operational algorithms operate on single pixels, which makes the on-swath geometry a natural choice. However, a gridded geometry may be a more natural choice for image based retrievals, particularly for those combining observations from multiple sensors.

Data splits#

Following machine-learning best practices, the SatRain dataset provides separate training, validation, and testing splits. The training and validation data are extracted from the collocations from 2018-2021 over CONUS. The validation data uses the collocations from each month’s first five days, while the remaining days are assigned to the training data.

The testing data is separated into data extracted over CONUS and two additional, independent testing datasets from Austria and Korea. As opposed to the training and validation data, the testing data is not split into fixed-size scenes. The testing data retains the structure of the original PMW overpasses to make it easy to compare SatRain retrievals against existing retrievals. To simplify evaluating retrieval on the testing data, the satrain.evaluation module provides functionality to tile and batch the input data from the testing data. See the documentation available here.

Subsets#

The data is split up into subsets to provide a hierarchy of dataset sizes. This is to allow users to get started using a smaller dataset but also provide a dataset large enough to train complex models. The subsets should be understood cumulatively meaning that, for example, the ‘xl’ dataset includes all files in ‘xs’, ‘s’, ‘m’, and ‘l’ folders.

Table 2 Dataset Subset Sizes#

Subset

Approximate Size

Number of Scenes (Gridded)

xs

1 GB

~500

s

7 GB

~2, 000

m

10 GB

~5, 000

l

70 GB

~20, 000

xl

1-2 TB

~50, 000

Subset Selection Guidelines#

For beginners and development:

  • Start with xs for learning the API and data structure

  • Use s for initial algorithm development and testing

  • Progress to m for validation and comparison

For research and production:

  • Use l for serious model development and hyperparameter optimization

  • Use xl for final training runs and publication-quality results

  • Consider computational resources when selecting larger subsets

Cumulative Nature of Subsets#

Subsets are inclusive, meaning:

  • s contains all data from xs plus additional scenes

  • m contains all data from xs + s plus additional scenes

  • l contains all data from xs + s + m plus additional scenes

  • xl contains all available training/validation data

This design allows you to:

  1. Start development with smaller subsets

  2. Scale up gradually as needed

  3. Ensure reproducibility when moving between subset sizes

  4. Compare results across different data volumes

File Structure#

Training and Validation Data#

The data is organzied into a folder structure following the hierarchy explained above. For the training data the folder structure looks as follows.

<satrain_data_path>
└── satrain
    └── <gmi/atms>
        └── <training/validation>
            ├── xs
            │   ├── gridded
            │   │   └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
            │   └── on_swath
            │       └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
            ├── ...
            ├── ...
            └── xl
                ├── gridded
                │   └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
                └── on_swath
                    └── <year>/<month>/<day>/

Testing Data#

For the testing data, the size-based subsets are replaced by the three domains: austria, conus, and korea.

<satrain_data_path>
    satrain
    └── <gmi/atms>
        └── testing
            ├── austria
            │   ├── gridded
            │   │   └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
            │   └── on_swath
            │       └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
            ├── conus
            │   ├── gridded
            │   │   └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
            │   └── on_swath
            │       └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
            └── korea
                ├── gridded
                │   └── <year>/<month>/<day>/
                └── on_swath
                    └── <year>/<month>/<day>/