Ever wonder about the rain? Beyond the practicality of needing an
umbrella, climate researchers have wondered about the science of
rainfall for a long time. But it's only in the past few years that
they've begun to roll back some of its secrets. One of their tools for
doing so is a powerful satellite called the Tropical Rainfall Measuring
Mission, or TRMM. Now, after three years of continual operation, project
scientists have released dramatic new maps of rainfall patterns gathered
across a wide band of the Earth. And with measurements from one of the
satellites advanced sensors, meteorologists are now able to calibrate
ground-based rain monitoring systems with greater precision than ever
before.
A complete accounting of the worlds total rainfall has long been a
major goal of climate researchers. Rain acts as the atmospheres
fundamental engine for heat exchange; every time a raindrop falls, the
atmosphere gets churned up and latent heat flows back into the total
climate system. Considering that rainfall is the primary driving force
of heat in the atmosphere, and that two thirds of all rain falls in the
tropics, these measurements are significant for our understanding of
overall climate.
The above image shows a one month average of rainfall
measurements taken by the TRMMs unique precipitation radar
during January of 1998. Areas of low rainfall are colored light blue, while
regions with heavy rainfal are colored orange and red. TRMM began collecting
data in December of 1997, and continues today.
For more information about TRMMs 3-year anniversary, read
Maps of Falling Water
To learn more about the TRMM mission or order TRMM data, see
the TRMM
Home Page.
Image courtesy TRMM Science team and the NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio.