Over 110 participants attended the NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) Science Team Meeting on December 12-15, 2005, in Monterey, California. A celebratory mood permeated the gathering, due to NASA's recent decisions to extend the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and to include high frequency channels on the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI). (Click here to read about GMI's added capabilities). Throughout the past year, PMM team members provided crucial scientific rationale to support these decisions. NASA's course of action clearly indicates that the new administrator's senior management team is highly committed to the success of precipitation missions.

The Science Team meeting began with a programmatic session, which included six presentations. Ramesh Kakar, the PMM Program Scientist, gave an overview of the NASA precipitation measurement program. Robert Adler, the TRMM Project Scientist, updated participants on the status of TRMM, which has been extended to 2009 and possibly beyond. GPM Project Scientist Arthur Hou reviewed GPM science highlights from the past year, discussed near-term science goals, and reaffirmed the science team's responsibility to work closely with the GPM project to ensure mission success through the pre-launch phase.

In an overview of the project status, John Durning, the GPM Project Formulation Manager, reported that GPM has successfully passed the System Definition Review and is on its way to Preliminary Design Review and Mission Confirmation Review in 2006. Erich Stocker, the GPM Deputy Project Scientist for Data and the Manager of the TRMM Science Data and Information System/Precipitation Processing System (TSDIS/PPS), presented a status report on precipitation data systems. The programmatic session concluded with an invited presentation on TRMM and GPM activities in Japan given by Dr. Tasuku Tanaka of the JAXA/Earth Observation Research and Application Center (EORC).

The remaining portion of the meeting was organized into six oral presentation sessions, two poster sessions on research results, and a working banquet at which keynote speaker, Professor Soroosh Sorooshian of the University of California at Irvin, discussed the "Role of TRMM and GPM in GEWEX and WCRP." (GEWEX stands for the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment and WCRP is the World Climate Research Program.)

The six oral presentation sessions contained discussions on:

1. Status/issues of TRMM V6, definitions of TRMM V7 algorithms, and the transition to GPM V0 algorithms, including consideration of TRMM multi-satellite and latent heating products
2. Survey of GPM Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and High Frequency (HF) algorithms
3. Review of GPM Ground Validation Advisory Panel recommendations
4. Team inputs on the provisional GPM Science Requirements for research and applications in five theme areas:
   (a) Microphysics, Cloud Modeling, Satellite Simulators and Retrievals;
   (b) Convective System, Storm Structure, and Extreme Weather Events;
   (c) Hydrology;
   (d) Climate Variability and Global Water/Energy Cycle; and
   (e) Numerical Weather Prediction and Data Assimilation.
5. Summary of upcoming format and toolkit changes of TRMM data systems
6. Summary of issues and recommendations for the five science themes, reviews of TRMM V6/7 plans, proposed revision of GPM Science Requirements, and action items for completing the GPM Science Implementation Plan by mid-2006.

This meeting provided a very useful forum for the precipitation science community to share ideas, status updates, and scientific findings. Such exchange is vital to ensure success of NASA's precipitation science goals, including those of GPM.

By Dr. Arthur Hou/GPM Project Scientist

Back to Top