Earth  ID: 4229

GPM Explores Typhoon Vongfong

On October 9, 2014 (0248UTC) the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory flew over Typhoon Vongfong as it headed towards Japan. At this point, the storm had weakened to a category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per hour (mph), down form a category 5 typhoon on October 8th.

The GPM Core Observatory carries two instruments that show the location and intensity of rain and snow, which defines a crucial part of the storm structure – and how it will behave. The GPM Microwave Imager sees through the tops of clouds to observe how much and where precipitation occurs, and the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar observes precise details of precipitation in 3-dimensions.

For forecasters, GPM's microwave and radar data are part of the toolbox of satellite data, including other low Earth orbit and geostationary satellites, that they use to monitor tropical cyclones and hurricanes.

The addition of GPM data to the current suite of satellite data is timely. Its predecessor precipitation satellite, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, is 18 years into what was originally a three-year mission. GPM's new high-resolution microwave imager data and the unique radar data ensure that forecasters and modelers won't have a gap in coverage. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. All GPM data products can be found at NASA Goddard's Precipitation Processing Center website http://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
 

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Visualization Credits

Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Animator
Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Ryan Fitzgibbons (USRA): Producer
Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC): Producer
Gail Skofronick Jackson (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Dalia B Kirschbaum (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
George Huffman (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
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NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

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Missions:
Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)
Viking

Data Used:
GPM/GMI/Surface Precipitation also referred to as: Rain Rates
Credit:
Data provided by the joint NASA/JAXA GPM mission.
GPM/DPR/Ku also referred to as: Volumetric Precipitation data
Observed Data - JAXA
Credit:
Data provided by the joint NASA/JAXA GPM mission.
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of this series:
GPM Animations

Keywords:
DLESE >> Atmospheric science
DLESE >> Cryology
SVS >> HDTV
DLESE >> Natural hazards
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Precipitation
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Phenomena >> Hurricanes
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Phenomena >> Storms
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Phenomena >> Typhoons
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Precipitation >> Precipitation Rate
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0