Rain and Snow Satellite Set to Launch   
       
   Feb. 26, 2014:  As Arthur C. Clarke once remarked, "How inappropriate to call   
   this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean."   
       
   Indeed, Earth is a water world.  The dry land most of us call home covers less   
   than a third of the planet's surface.  Water moves around Earth with a   
   circulation as complex as that of the human body. Evaporation, condensation,   
   and precipitation transport warmth and moisture from place to place,   
   sustaining life and setting the stage for weather and climate.   
       
   "The water-cycle, so familiar to all school-age young scientists, is one of   
   the most dynamic and important elements in our studies of Earth," says John   
   Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in   
   Washington DC.  "We're about to launch a new satellite that gives us critical   
   information about how the water-cycle works."   
       
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjMImIMGHdw   
       
   A new ScienceCast video, "Follow the Water," previews the mission of the   
   Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory. Play it   
       
   It's called the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory--or "GPM"   
   for short. Built by NASA and JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the   
   satellite is scheduled to launch on Feb. 27th at 1 pm EST from the Tanegashima   
   Space Center in Japan.   
       
   GPM will fly 253 miles above Earth in an orbit inclined 65-degrees to the   
   equator. This orbit allows the satellite to monitor precipitation all the way   
   from the Arctic to the Antarctic circles. Working with a network of other   
   satellites--some already in orbit and some planned for the future--GPM can   
   measure rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe.   
       
   "The kind of data we'll get from the GPM network is unprecedented," says Gail   
   Skofronick-Jackson, GPM project scientist at Goddard. "We'll be able to   
   observe detailed characteristics of rain and snow systems that are extremely   
   important for improving weather and climate forecasts."   
       
   Normal operations will begin about 60 days after launch.  Data will be   
   downlinked through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to NASA's   
   Precipitation Processing Center in Greenbelt, Md., where it will be processed   
   and distributed over the Internet.   
       
   GPM carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall: a Dual-frequency   
   Precipitation Radar and the GPM Microwave Imager. Compared to instruments   
   flown on previous Earth science satellites, GPM's precipitation radar and   
   microwave imager can see deeper into clouds and detect smaller particles of   
   rain, ice and snow. The radar will be able to form 3D profiles of   
   precipitation, revealing the inner workings of cloudy storm systems.  The   
   microwave imager will measure not only heavy and moderate rain, as other   
   satellites do, but also light rain and snow-two forms of precipitation   
   important over mountain ranges and high-latitude sites in North America,   
   Europe and Asia.   
       
   What we learn from GPM network, concludes Grunsfeld, "will help us cope with   
   future extreme weather events and manage fresh water resources" in a changing   
   world.   
       
   Make that water world.   
       
   Credits:   
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
       
   More information:   
   Global Precipitation Measurement Observatory Core Observatory -- home page   
       
   JAXA -- home page:   
       
   http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)