Use of TRMM for Analysis of Extreme Precipitation Events

Largest Land Daily Rainfall (mm/day)

Real-time Heavy Rain Maps (updated every 3 hours)1 day (35 mm), 3 day (100 mm), 7 day accumulations (200 mm)

20 June 2007

06 GMT

Landslide Susceptibility Map

Global landslide susceptibility map constructed using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM, MODIS vegetation and soil characteristic information

DEM, Slope, Aspect

Topography

Curvature, Concavity

Morphology

Lithological makeup

Geology

Sand, Foam, Silt, Clay

Soil Property

Shrub, barren, urban

Land Cover

e.g., Soil Moisture

Hydrology

Surface Controlling

Factors

Sea Surface Temperature Measurements from TRMM

High-resolution SST measurements through clouds from TMI data provided early detection of the 1998 La Nina and instability waves (Wentz, Science 1999)

High-resolution SST measurements illustrated the deleterious effect of Hurricane Bonnie’s cold wake on the development of Hurricane Danielle

TRMM has observed the inner structure of natural hazards like hurricanes Mitch (1998), Bonnie (1998), and Floyd (1999).

Compelling New Looks at Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones

Mosaic of TRMM overpasses of Hurricane Isabel (2004) crossing the Atlantic

Hurricane Intensity

9/08/049/10/04

9/12/04

9/14/04

9/15/04

9/16/04

Saffir/SimpsonCategory

54321

TropicalStorm

Surface Wind(km/h) (mph)

24820918015111861

156130112947438

Hurricane Katrina ( 2005)

TRMM Impact on Mesoscale Simulation of Super Typhoon Paka

SSM/I 85 GHz Brightness Temperature, PAKA (8.9N, 161.8E)13 DEC 1997 0911UTC

Rain(mm/3hr), Sea-level Pressure & 850 hPa Wind13 DEC 1997 0900UTC (IC: GEOS without TRMM)

Rain(mm/3hr), Sea-level Pressure & 850 hPa Wind13 DEC 1997 0900UTC (IC: GEOS with TRMM)

Zhao-Xia Pu and Wei-Kuo Tao

El Nino La Nina

El Nino and La Nina Precipitation Anomaly Patterns

Warm Pacific Cold Pacific

Red: positive precipitation anomaliesBlue: negative precipitation anomalies

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission

GPM Core Spacecraft (2013 launch)

at 65o inclination

NASA constellation(2014 launch)

at 30-40o inclination

Megha-TropiquesNOAA-N’

NPPMetOp-B

NPOESS-C1GCOM-W

GPM Sensors

Microwave radiometer (GMI) [U.S.]

10.7, 18.7, 23.8, 37, 89, 165, 183 GHz

(dual polarized except for 23.8V-only)

conical scanning

at 4.5 km resolution at 89 GHz

800 km swath

Dual frequency precipitation radar (DPR) [Japan]

cross-track scanning

at 5 km resolution

Ku-band:

13.6 GHz, 245 km swath

Ka-band:

36.55 GHz, 120 km swath

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Unify and advance global precipitation measurements

through

Advanced microwave sensors & algorithms (dual-frequency radar & microwave imager)

A consistent framework for inter-satellite calibration

International science collaboration in algorithm development, ground validation

Improved use of precipitation data in research & applications

GPM Core Satellite

Increased sensitivity for light rain and snow detection

Better overall measurement accuracy

Detailed microphysical information and a common cloud database for rain & snow retrievals from Core & Constellation sensors

NASA constellation

Improved near-real time hurricane monitoring and prediction

What can GPM do?

• To extend TRMM's observations of precipitation to higher latitudes, with more frequent sampling, and with focused research on providing a more complete understanding of the global hydrological cycle.

• To be capable of measuring rain rates as small as a hundredth of an inch per hour to as large as 4 inches an hour.

• To be able to estimate the various sizes of precipitation particles, and will also discriminate between snow and rain.

• To achieve rainfall measurements with a 3-hour average revisit time over 80% of the globe, and the data will be available to users within 3 hours of observation time.

March 24, 2010 San Jose State University