OLYMPEX Scientist Profiles

LEAD: If you want to test and fine-tune a satellite that measures snow and rain, it makes sense to go to THE wettest area in the United States: the rainforest of Washington State. 1. Each year the slopes of the Olympic Mountains are soaked with over 100 inches of rain, with a record total of 184", or 15 feet of rain! 2. NASA and university scientists are utilizing NASA's DC-8 and ER-2 research planes as well as ground radar and other instruments to gather "ground truth" data to help calibrate NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite, launched in 2014. TAG: The GPM satellite network of 12 satellites provides unprecedented worldwide radar measurements of precipitation every 30 minutes that will assist weather and climate scientists, as well as flood emergency managers. For More InformationSee [http://pmm.nasa.gov/olympex](http://pmm.nasa.gov/olympex) Related pages

Footage of the DC-8 in flight.Credit: NASA Armstrong Research Flight Center/Lori Losey Footage of the DC-8 taking off. Footage of the research and flight crew on board the DC-8. More footage of the crew on board the DC-8. The Olympic Mountain Experiment, or OLYMPEX, is a NASA-led field campaign, which will take place on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State from November 2015 through February 2016. The goal of the campaign is to collect detailed atmospheric measurements that will be used to evaluate how well rain-observing satellites measure rainfall and snowfall from space. In particular, OLYMPEX will be assessing satellite measurements made by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Core Observatory, a joint mission by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which launched in 2014.This is a selection of b-roll of the DC-8 in flight over the Olympic region during the field campaign. Related pages

B-roll of a Dual-frequency Dual-polarized Doppler Radar (D3R). The D3R is a fully polarimetric, scanning weather radar system operating at the nominal frequencies of 13.91 GHz and 35.56 GHz covering a maximum range of 30 km. The frequencies chosen allow close compatibility with the GPM Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar system, which was selected for flight on the GPM core spacecraft. This footage was captured during the NASA-led field campaign OLYMPEX. B-roll of the NASA NPOL radar is a research grade S-band, scanning dual-polarimetric radar. It is used to make accurate volumetric measurements of precipitation including rainfall rate, particle size distributions, water contents and precipitation type. This footage was captured during the NASA-led field campaign OLYMPEX. B-roll of scientists working on the ground instruments used to verify precipitation measurements from NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite. This footage was captured during the NASA-led field campaign OLYMPEX. B-roll of the landscape in Washington State where OLYMPEX is operating. Much of the study region is in Olympic National Park, where motorized vehicles are not permitted. Pack mules helped the research team carry equipment to high-elevation sites in early October.Credit: Lynn McMurdie/University of Washington. The Olympic Mountain Experiment, or OLYMPEX, is a NASA-led field campaign, which will take place on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State from November 2015 through February 2016. The goal of the campaign is to collect detailed atmospheric measurements that will be used to evaluate how well rain-observing satellites measure rainfall and snowfall from space. In particular, OLYMPEX will be assessing satellite measurements made by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Core Observatory, a joint mission by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which launched in 2014.This is a selection of b-roll that captures the scientists and instruments at work in Washington State. For More InformationSee [http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-heads-to-pacific-northwest-for-field-campaign-to-measure-rain-and-snowfall](http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-heads-to-pacific-northwest-for-field-campaign-to-measure-rain-and-snowfall) Related pages

This is a preview video of The Olympic Mountain Experiment, or OLYMPEX, NASA-led field campaign, which is taking place on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State from November 2015 through February 2016. From November 10 through December 21, NASA and university scientists are taking to the field to study wet winter weather near Seattle, Washington. With weather radars, weather balloons, specialized ground instruments, and NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory, the science team will be verifying rain and snowfall observations made by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission on a NASA-led field campaign, The Olympic Mountain Experiment, or OLYMPEX.For more information: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-heads-to-pacific-northwest-for-field-campaign-to-measure-rain-and-snowfall For More InformationSee [http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-heads-to-pacific-northwest-for-field-campaign-to-measure-rain-and-snowfall](http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-heads-to-pacific-northwest-for-field-campaign-to-measure-rain-and-snowfall) Related pages

Dropsonde Upload Exterior shots of the DC-8 Goddard Space Flight Center JPL Related pages

An atmospheric river occured between 9th and 12th of Dec. 2014 over the Pacific Ocean and Southwest US. Color bar for liquid precipitation in IMERG dataset The water vapor data at the beginning illustrates the process of the atmospheric river forming. The IMERG data is then faded in to show the percipitation caused by the atmospheric river. The same animation as above shown with MODIS true-color continents. The animation shows that an atmospheric river occured in Dec. 2014 based on both water vapor and IMERG data. The same animation as above shown with MODIS true-color continents. This animation demonstrates the atmospheric river in IMERG data only. The same animation as above shown with MODIS true-color continents. This animation demonstrates the atmospheric river in the water vapor data only. The same animation as above shown with MODIS true-color continents. An atmospheric river occured between 9th and 12th of Dec. 2014 over the Pacific Ocean and Southwest US. The color bar is included. This video is also available on our YouTube channel. Atmospheric rivers are narrow corridors or filaments of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere that account for most of the pole-ward transport of water vapor around the globe. Atmospheric rivers consist of narrow bands of enhanced water vapor transport, typically along the boundaries between large areas of divergent surface air flow, including some frontal zones in association with extratropical cyclones that form over the oceans. Atmospheric rivers play a central role in the global water cycle. They are the major cause of extreme precipitation events (which may cause severe flooding) in many mid-latitude, westerly coastal regions of the world, including the west coast of North America, western Europe, and the west coast of North Africa. This project illustrates an atmospheric river that developed between the 9th and 12th of December 2014, stretching across Hawaii to California based on water vapor data and IMERG precipitation data. The visualizations show the IMERG precipitation data over the white, cloud-like water vapor. Heavy precipitation is shown in shades of red while lighter rains are shown in greens (see the color bar below).In the visualization above, the time step (the period) between two consecutive frames represents a quarter of an hour.In the visualizations below, the time step between two consecutive frames represents half hour. Related pages

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission produces NASA's most comprehensive global rain and snowfall product to date, called the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG). It is computed using data from the GPM constellation of satellites — a network of international satellites that currently includes the GPM Core Observatory, GCOM-W1, NOAA-18, NOAA-19, DMSP F-16, DMSP F-17, DMSP F-18, Metop-A, and Metop-B. The global IMERG dataset provides precipitation rates for the entire world every 30 minutes. Although the process to create the combined dataset is intensive, the GPM team creates a preliminary, near-real-time dataset of precipitation within several hours of data acquisition. This visualization shows the most currently available precipitation data from IMERG, depicting how rain and snowstorms move around the planet. As scientists work to understand all the elements of Earth's climate and weather systems, and how they could change in the future, GPM provides a major step forward in providing comprehensive and consistent measurements of precipitation for scientists and a wide variety of user communities. An animation of the most currently available global precipitation data from IMERG. Colorbar for frozen precipitation Color bar for liquid precipitation An image of the most currently available global precipitation data from IMERG. Related pages

Various beauty passes of the GPM Core spacecraft. The GPM Core satellite cruises over a hurricane. A variety of animated beauty passes of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core spacecraft. Related pages