Precipitation

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Water cycling and the future availability of fresh water resources are critical societal concerns affecting all nations, as they relate to nearly every environmental issue. Precipitation plays a vital role in the weather and climate system by regulating the global energy and radiation balance through its interactions with clouds, water vapor, global winds, and atmospheric transport. Comprehensive information on precipitation is essential for understanding the global water and energy cycle, benefiting various research and practical applications. However, measuring rainfall presents challenges due to the random nature of precipitation systems, which can evolve and dissipate rapidly. Rain amounts can vary significantly over small areas and short time spans, complicating quantification efforts. Accurate local measurements are crucial for hydrometeorological applications, such as flood and landslide forecasting. While historical, multi-decadal precipitation data from surface-based rain gauges exist over continents, oceans were largely unmonitored before the satellite era. Early visible and infrared satellites provided insights into cloud tops, but wide-band microwave frequencies have proven particularly effective for examining the precipitating liquid and ice layers within clouds.