Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) for Science and Society Gail Skofronick-Jackson GPM Project Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Radar Observation of Rain from Space Tokyo, Japan 29 November 2017
GPM: A Science Mission with Integrated Application Goals Floods/Landslides Unified Precipitation Measurements Land surface & climate modeling Freshwater Availability Agriculture/Famine Warning GPM Science Objectives: New reference standards for precipitation measurements from space Improved knowledge of water cycle variability and freshwater availability Improved numerical weather prediction capabilities Improved climate prediction skills Improved predictions for floods, landslides, and freshwater resources Extreme Events World Health 2
Launched Feb 2014 GPM Core Observatory & Constellation GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) 13 Channels, NASA Passive radiometer with excellent calibration Provides measurements of precipitation (rain and snow) intensity and distribution over 885 km High spatial resolution (down to ~5km footprints) 166 Kg, 162 W, 34.9 Kbs Science,1.2 m reflector GPM Core Observatory: 407 km; 65 deg inclin.; 3- year design life, extra fuel, 0.2-110 mm/hr & snow New precip. ref. standards Improved NWP & climate prediction skills GPM Constellation: Improved knowledge of water cycle variability Improved prediction of floods, landslides & freshwater resources Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), JAXA KuPR similar to TRMM, KaPR added for GPM Provides 3D measurements of precipitation structure, precipitation particle size distribution and precipitation intensity and distribution 3 High spatial resolution (5km horiz.; 250m vertical)
GPM Core Observatory & Data Summary Spacecraft and Instrument Status: Green: All Functioning Data Products: GPM Version 05 algorithms released in May 2017 TRMM+GPM long-term data record to be released in 2018 Data Latency (Data Available To Users) GMI (1 hr requirement, avg 23 min) DPR (3 hr, avg 76 min) Combined GMI+DPR (3 hr, avg 83 min) NASA multi-satellite estimates(avg 5 hrs) This near-real-time data is important for application and operational users. More accurate data later for science. Fuel Predictions (with controlled re-entry): Prediction Date Plus/Early Mean/Nominal Minus/Late Nov-2017 08/2027 (13 yrs) 07/2032 (18 yrs) 08/2035 (21 yrs) Fuel estimates change with solar cycle. Instruments are hoped to work as long as fuel. 4
GPM Core Observatory Rain & Snow Estimates: 1 April 2017 5
0.2 110 DPR MS Product (mm/hr) DPR MS Dm Product (mm) 50% 25% 25% 50% GPM s Data are Highly Accurate and Informative DPR: quantify rain rates between 0.2 and 110 mm/hr and demonstrate the detection of snowfall. Estimate the D m of precipitation particle size distribution to within +/- 0.5 mm. The instantaneous rain rate bias and random error estimates are <50% at 1 mm hr -1 and <25% at 10 mm/hr. Solid: Bias Dash: NMAE (Random Error) GV (mm/hr) 0.2 110 GV Dm (mm) DPR Retrievals 1.0 10.0 6
GPM s Radar Data Inform us about Particle Drop Sizes 7
21-28 November 2017 Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) IMERG provides precipitation estimates every 30 min at a 0.1 x 0.1 grid box and 8 with a 4-5 hour latency (for applications) and ~3 month latency (for science users)
Applications: Floods Flood Susceptibility (Oroville Dam, California USA; Feb 2017) IMERG Rainfall (7-day accum.) 21 Feb 2017 X Oroville View of Oroville Dam's main spillway (center) and emergency spillway (top), 11 February 2017. flood.umd.edu Flood Detection/Intensity (depth above threshold [mm]) Forecast for 22 Feb 2017 Estimated Water Volume into Oroville Dam 11 Feb 2017 Spillway release 21 Feb 2017 Forecast Event 9
Applications: Landslides Associated with Hurricane Maria Data was routinely used by the US National Guard for situational awareness for Hurricane Maria, the city of Rio de Janeiro, Pacific Disaster Center, FEMA and others 1-day rain accumulation 20 Sept 2017 Landslide nowcast 20 Sept 2017 https://pmm.nasa.gov/precip-apps 10
Applications: Fire Weather Data and Forecasting Fire Weather Index 28 Aug 2015 Higher Fine Fuel Moisture Code 14 Feb 2017 chance of fire Pacific Northwest USA More rain Dots=fires Drier conditions The Fire Weather Index System is the most widely used fire danger rating system in the world. The Global Fire WEather Database (GFWED) developed at NASA integrates different weather factors influencing the likelihood of a vegetation fire starting and spreading. [https://data.giss.nasa.gov/impacts/gfwed/]
Application: Agriculture & Crop Irrigation Satellite data used to empower National Water Agencies of Pakistan and Nepal Dear farmer friend, we would like to inform you that your banana crop does not need irrigation due to sufficient rainfall the past week Banana farmer checking his IMERGbased irrigation advisory Over 10,000 farmers in the Indus basin receive information on water resources in their area on their cell phone. Reference: Hossain et al. EOS Earth and Space News, 2017 12
GPM Science Team NASA Precipitation Measurement Mission Science Team Meeting, San Diego, CA USA October 2017 60 NASA funded Principal Investigators, 25 no-cost international teams Next NASA 3-year funded proposal cycle renewal in 2018 Reference paper: Skofronick-Jackson, Petersen, Berg, Kidd, Stocker, Kirschbaum, Kakar, Braun, Huffman, Iguchi, Kirstetter, Kummerow, Meneghini, Oki, Olson, Takayabu, Furukawa, Wilheit, The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission for 13 Science and Society. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., August 2017.
gpm.nasa.gov/education/comics Applications/Education & Public Outreach gpm.nasa.gov/education NASA Social Media Twitter: NASARain (> 21K followers) Facebook: NASARain (> 52K followers) Website: gpm.nasa.gov Movies: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov Educational Comic Book 14
Cloud and Precipitation Processes Measurement (CaPPM) (Submitted to 2017 NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey, Decisions in 2018) Image: Science News magazine article March 22, 2014 It is essential to know where, when and how clouds form, whether they precipitate or not, and how patterns may change in a future climate. Science questions include: How can the ice species be parameterized? What is the connection between vertical velocities and resulting ice hydrometeor species? What is the partitioning between liquid and ice? What dynamics can be measured and modeled? As models achieve reduced grid scales, the microphysical states and processes become important and implementable in climate and earth system models Key instruments being considered include radars at Ku, Ka, W-band (some with Doppler), and a wideband radiometer (potentially from 10-874 GHz); Intl. collaborations are being encouraged. 15