Earth ID: 12063

NASA On Air: NASA's OLYMPEX Program Helps Validate Global Precipitation Measurement Satellite (11/18/2015)

Released on November 18, 2015

LEAD: If you want to test and fine-tune a satellite that measures snow and rain, it makes sense to go to THE wettest area in the United States: the rainforest of Washington State.

1. Each year the slopes of the Olympic Mountains are soaked with over 100 inches of rain, with a record total of 184", or 15 feet of rain!

2. NASA and university scientists are utilizing NASA's DC-8 and ER-2 research planes as well as ground radar and other instruments to gather "ground truth" data to help calibrate NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite, launched in 2014.

TAG: The GPM satellite network of 12 satellites provides unprecedented worldwide radar measurements of precipitation every 30 minutes that will assist weather and climate scientists, as well as flood emergency managers.

For More Information

http://pmm.nasa.gov/olympex

Credits

Howard Joe Witte (ADNET): Lead Producer
Sophia Roberts (USRA): Video Editor

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12063

Mission:
Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)

Keywords:
SVS >> GPM
SVS >> HDTV
NASA Science >> Earth