Earth  ID: 4547

Atmospheric River Slams California

Visualizations by Horace Mitchell Released on January 23, 2017
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This visualization combines precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals (IMERG) and water vapor data from Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) . Together, they allow scientists to study atmospheric rivers and the heavy precipitation they bring to California.
This video is also available on our YouTube channel.
After more than four years of drought, Californians may wonder where the current rain is coming from. Using satellites, NASA scientists have a unique view of the sources of precipitation, and how it reaches the western United States.

Rain is often carried by narrow tendrils of moisture called atmospheric rivers that occur all over the world, shown here in white. The atmospheric rivers that affect the western United States are known as the Pineapple Express because they transport water vapor from as far south as Hawaii to California. When the moisture reaches land, it is forced up over the hills and mountains where it cools, producing significant rainfall. This type of precipitation provides about 40 percent of the state’s annual water supply.
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A global view of the IMERG precipitation and GEOS water vapor in the first half of January 2017. Note that atmospheric river events occur not just in California, but all over the world in the mid-latitude regions.
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Color bar for liquid precipitation
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Colorbar for frozen precipitation
 

Used Elsewhere In

Torrential Atmospheric Rivers

Visualization Credits

Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC): Lead Visualizer
George Huffman (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4547

Data Used:
GEOS Atmospheric Model
Model - NASA GMAO
view all stories where this data set is used
also referred to as: IMERG
Data Compilation - NASA/GSFC - 1/1/2017-1/14/2017
view all stories where this data set is used
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
SVS >> Earth
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Precipitation
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Water Vapor >> Water Vapor
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
SVS >> Presentation

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