The 2nd GPM Applications Workshop

Introduction to GPM

Ramesh KakarTRMM and GPM Program ScientistNASA Headquarters

June 9, 2015

Precipitation Measuring Missions

TRMM: Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

• Launched in 1997 to measure tropical rainfall

• After 17+ years of service the satellite was passivated in April 2015

• Partnership between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

GPM: Global Precipitation Measurement ( launched February 2014 from Tanegashima)

• GPM builds upon TRMM’s tremendous success and looks at precipitation with greater accuracy around the world

• GPM uses inputs from an international constellation of satellites to provide improved space and time coverage of precipitation

Tropical Storm Ingrid on Friday, Sept. 13th

TRMM Precipitation Radar recorded “hot towers” (red) that often signal a tropical cyclone will intensify

Increased sensitivity (~12 dBZ) for light rain and snow detection relative to TRMM

Better measurement accuracy with differential attenuation correction

Detailed microphysical information (DSD mean mass diameter & particle no. density) & identification of liquid, ice, and mixed-phase regions

Dual-Frequency (Ku-Ka band) Precipitation Radar (DPR):

Multi-Channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Imager (GMI):

Higher spatial resolution (IFOV: 6-26 km) Improved light rain & snow detection Improved signals of solid precipitation

over land (especially over snow- covered surfaces)

4-point calibration to serve as a radiometric reference for constellation radiometers

Combined Radar-Radiometer Retrieval DPR & GMI together provide greater constraints on

possible solutions to improve retrieval accuracy Observation-based a-priori cloud database for

constellation radiometer retrievals

Core Observatory Measurement Capabilities

4GPM Town Hall, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2014 Page

GPM Core Observatory (NASA/JAXA, 2014) )DPR (Ku & Ka band)GMI (10-183 GHz)65o Incl, 407 km altitude5 km best footprint0.2 – 110 mm/hr and snow

Active Joint Projects (19 PI’s from 13 countries)

GPM’s International Constellation

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GPM at 1 Year

The GPM Core Observatory lifted off at 3:37 a.m. JST on Feb. 28, 2014 from Tanegashima Space Flight Center, Japan

Top: Only 17 days after launch, GPM flew over its first snowstorm off the East Coast, demonstrating the capability to observe heavy rain, light rain and falling snow within the same storm and providing new insight into the precipitation melting layer

Left: Hurricane Arthur impacted the East Coast in early July, 2014. GPM observed Hurricane Arthur on July 3rd, providing a detailed 3-D picture of the storm as it was intensifying over the ocean.

NASA's GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) was specifically designed to detect falling snow. This snow event occurred March 17, 2014 and deposited more than 7” of snow in the Washington, DC metro area.

Falling Snow as Observed by GMI

Bottom Left: GMI retrievals of liquid rain (greens to reds indicate light to heavy rain) and falling snow (blue shading).

Bottom Right: Ground measurements from NOAA’s National Mosaic & Multi-Sensor QPE (CONUS 3D radar mosaic at 1km resolution).

GMIRetrievals

GroundData

Courtesy Kummerow/Berg

Precipitation Products and Release Schedule

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IMERG Rain Accumulations and GV

IMERG, GV gauge, and MRMS daily accumulations

Daily accumulations 4/1 – 8/1 2014

Single grid-box comparisons over Wallops GV site also in agreement

Continental-scale view of the U.S. GPM multi-satellite product IMERG, showing daily rain totals in reasonably good agreement with CONUS GV

Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor Product

Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG)

Societal Benefit Areas

Extreme Events and Disasters• Landslides (NASA Hazard Mapping)• Floods (Global Flood Monitoring System-UMD, International Flood Network-IFNet)• Tropical cyclones (Joint Typhoon Warning Center, National Hurricane Center-NOAA, U.S. Military,

Air Force Weather Agency-AFWA) • Multi-hazard situational awareness (Pacific Disaster Center, International Red Cross, World Bank)• Re-insurance (Swiss Re)

Water Resources and Agriculture• Famine Early Warning System (USGS-USDA-FEMA)• Drought Monitoring (US Drought Monitor-U of Nebraska-Lincoln-NOAA-USDA, NOAA CPC, NCEP) • Water resource management (USGS, USDA, NOAA)• Agricultural monitoring (Agricultural Meteorological Modeling System, USDA, AFWA)

NWP, Climate & Land Surface Modeling• Numerical Weather Prediction (ECMWF, National Weather Service, The Weather Company)• Land Data Assimilation System Modeling (NASA Land Information System, AFWA, USDA,

International Center for Biosaline Agriculture-ICBA, Universities)• Global Climate Modeling and Assimilation (NASA-GMAO, NOAA)

Public Health and Ecology• Disease tracking (National Center for Atmospheric Research-NCAR, Universities)• Animal migration (Universities, MoveBank.Org)• Food Security (USDA, FAO, World Bank, International Red Cross)

Streamflow Forecast at Trinity River Location from GFMSRiver forecast to continuing dropping toward flood threshold

Forecast

Flood Threshold

Oso Landslide in Snohomish County, Washington

Dalia Kirschbaum, Code 617, NASA GSFC

Figure 2: Image from Landsat 8 pan-sharpened natural colour 15 m resolution data taken Sunday morning, March 23rd. Photo courtesy of Jesse Allan (Sigma Space Corp/NASA)

Figure 1: Catastrophic landslide that took place on March 22, 2014 in Oso, Snohomish County, WA. The landslide appears to have been initiated by seasonal rainfall, among other factors, and shows a rotational slide at top with large mobilized mudflow features downslope.

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Cumulative Rainfall from Oct 1 - March 23 for 2000-2014, TMPA 3-hourly V7 RT

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Figure 3: Cumulative rainfall (mm) for the regional rainy season (Oct-Mar) taken from 2000-2014. The red line indicates the 2014 rainy season and blue lines show previous years. According to TMPA RT data, this was the wettest season on record since 2004 and the 3rd wettest since the start of the TRMM record with a rapid increase in cumulative rainfall starting in February.

Oso Landslide

Summary

• GPM is an international mission that provides improved satellite observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours

• The precipitation data from the GPM mission extend our capabilities (from TRMM’s) to study a wide range of applications for scientific research and societal benefit.

Landslides

Agriculture/Famine Freshwater Availability ModelingWorld Health

Extreme EventsFlooding Cyclones