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The Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) is one of the primary instruments aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observatory. VIRS is one of the three instruments in the rain-measuring package and serves as a very indirect indicator of rainfall. It also ties in TRMM measurements with other measurements that are made routinely using the meteorological Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites POES) and those that are made using the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) operated by the United States. VIRS, as its name implies, senses radiation coming up from the...

High in the atmosphere, water collects on dust and smoke particles in clouds. Raindrops start to form in a roughly spherical structure due to the surface tension of water. This surface tension is the "skin" of a body of water that makes the molecules stick together. The cause is the weak hydrogen bonds that occur between water molecules. On smaller raindrops, the surface tension is stronger than in larger drops. The reason is the flow of air around the drop. As the raindrop falls, it lose that rounded shape. The raindrop becomes more like the top half of a hamburger bun. Flattened on the...

Problem-Based Classroom Modules A series of PDF files which provide full classroom lessons and problem sets for a number of precipitation-related topics. The Shape of a Raindrop A lesson on what causes raindrops in our atmosphere to be a certain shape. Create a Sphere with Precipitation Climatology Click above to download the PDF file. This is an activity in which students will cut and fold paper to create a 3D sphere which displays the precipitation climatology (long-term average) computed by the Global Energy and Water Experiment for 1979-2008. This activity was created by Dr. Chris Kidd and...

Featured Documents All files are .PDF unless noted otherwise MC3E Field Campaign White Paper GPM Ground Validation: Strategy and Efforts Report of the 1st International GPM GV Requirements Workshop Profiler Data Sets for the NASA PMM Community Presentations from the 2nd International GPM GV Workshop CSU's 2-Dimensional Video Disdrometer for the Canadian CloudSat/CALIPSO Validation Programme (.ppt) Validation Network Data Product User's Guide - Volume 1 (TRMM) Validation Network Data Product User's Guide - Volume 2 (GPM) GROUND Validation System Level 3 Operations Concept GROUND Validation...

Winter 2006-2007 Snowfall Field Campaign The NASA GPM Project and the Precipitation Measurement Mission (PMM) Science Team participated in to the Canadian CloudSat/CALIPSO Validation Programme (C3VP) during winter 2006-2007. The campaign took place in the vicinity of the Centre for Atmospheric Research Experiments (CARE) operated by the Meteorological Service of Canada . All members of NASA's PMM Science Team are covered by a "blanket" agreement that allows them full access to the C3VP data, subject to the C3VP Data Protocol . The CARE facility is located about 80 km north of Toronto. Results...