1 00:00:00,010 --> 00:00:04,040 [Reporter] NASA is unveiling a new global portrait and here 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,090 to show us what this portrait looks like 3 00:00:08,090 --> 00:00:12,110 and tell us more about what it all means is Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum 4 00:00:12,110 --> 00:00:16,130 from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, thanks for joining us. [Dr. Kirschbaum] Thanks for having me. 5 00:00:16,130 --> 00:00:20,190 [Reporter] So this new global view is very compelling, what makes this map so special? 6 00:00:20,190 --> 00:00:24,190 [Dr. Kirschbaum] Well typically what you see on TV is either a radar image from the ground 7 00:00:24,190 --> 00:00:28,240 showing local rain fall or you see a satellite showing the tops of clouds. 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,300 The Global Precipitation Mission or GPM can actually see through the clouds. 9 00:00:32,300 --> 00:00:36,310 and it provides a global picture with the help of a constellation 10 00:00:36,310 --> 00:00:40,360 satellites, both domestic and international. What this does provides 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,450 this global picture of rain and snow every where around the world every 12 00:00:44,450 --> 00:00:48,500 30 minutes. [Reporter] So can you take us on tour and show us 13 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:52,540 some of the surprising things you've seen. [Dr. Kirschbaum] Sure in just one week in August 14 00:00:52,540 --> 00:00:56,610 of 2014 we saw some pretty impressive precipitation around the world. 15 00:00:56,610 --> 00:01:00,640 You know the first we saw in the Pacific we see these storms lining up 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,700 and what you see here is Hurricane Iselle hitting Hawaii, the first in 17 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:08,800 22 years. Further south in the Amazon you can see this kind of popcorn convection 18 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,830 as well as squall lines, which is very important for feeding 19 00:01:12,830 --> 00:01:16,910 largest river on Earth, the Amazon river. Even Further south you can 20 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:21,030 look at the southern oceans, these huge storm systems spiraling around 21 00:01:21,030 --> 00:01:25,070 an area of really rough weather and very observations on the ground. 22 00:01:25,070 --> 00:01:29,130 [Reporter] I understand that this is the first satellite to measure falling 23 00:01:29,130 --> 00:01:33,140 snow. Can you show us a resent snow storm? [Dr. Kirschbaum] Sure absolutely, 24 00:01:33,140 --> 00:01:37,180 I think one of the important things to know is that GPM has advance instruments 25 00:01:37,180 --> 00:01:41,240 to measure everything from liquid to solid precipitation. So for example 26 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:45,250 if you look at a tropical event like Arthur, Hurricane Arthur which affected the east coast 27 00:01:45,250 --> 00:01:49,270 in July of 2014, you can see heavy rain 28 00:01:49,270 --> 00:01:53,310 in the reds but you also see blue's and purple's as snow 29 00:01:53,310 --> 00:01:57,330 at the top. What is interesting when it's cold at the surface you can actually 30 00:01:57,330 --> 00:02:01,360 see falling snow from GPM. 31 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,410 [Reporter] I understand there's a lot interesting activity over the oceans 32 00:02:05,410 --> 00:02:09,430 last week, can you show us some of the things you saw? [Dr. Kirschbaum] Sure, It's 33 00:02:09,430 --> 00:02:13,460 quite interesting actually. Super Tyhpoon Maysak was the 34 00:02:13,460 --> 00:02:17,510 5th storm to occur before April 1st. So it's 35 00:02:17,510 --> 00:02:21,530 pretty notable and right now it's spinning the Pacific causing some 36 00:02:21,530 --> 00:02:25,590 has a potential to hit the Philippines pretty soon. You can also 37 00:02:25,590 --> 00:02:29,680 see some squall lines moving across the U.S. and also 38 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,690 coming all the way across the Atlantic and affecting the U.K. 39 00:02:33,690 --> 00:02:37,730 and other parts of Europe causing extensive damage both from wind 40 00:02:37,730 --> 00:02:41,800 and flooding. [Reporter] How are forecasters and emergency managers using 41 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,810 this global view? [Dr. Kirschbaum] Well knowing where, when and how much it's raining and 42 00:02:45,810 --> 00:02:49,860 snowing is really vital for understanding where we might have extreme events like 43 00:02:49,860 --> 00:02:53,960 landslides and even floods. GPM provides real time data 44 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,990 to emergency responders and forecasters. This is an example of 45 00:02:57,990 --> 00:03:02,120 Super Typhoon Halong and this visualizing 46 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,300 shows accumulations and the dark reds are 47 00:03:06,300 --> 00:03:10,360 heavy rain fall. This affected Japan and caused 48 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,430 extensive flooding. Now GPM data will help to improve models both of our 49 00:03:14,430 --> 00:03:18,430 weather today and our climate in the future. [Reporter] Tell us where can we learn 50 00:03:18,430 --> 00:03:22,460 more about this mission. [Dr. Kirschbaum] Well this is a really exciting time for Earth science at 51 00:03:22,460 --> 00:03:26,520 NASA since February launched 5 missions. To learn more 52 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,530 about this, please go to nasa.gov/earthrightnow 53 00:03:30,530 --> 00:03:34,515 [Reporter] Great, thanks so much for joining us. [Dr. Kirschbaum] Thanks for having me.