NASA’s New View of the Daily Cycle of Rain
- Written by:
- Alex Kekesi and
- Jackson Boon Sze Tan
- Scientific consulting by:
- Dalia B Kirschbaum,
- George Huffman, and
- Stephen J. Munchak
- Produced by:
- Joy Ng and
- Ryan Fitzgibbons
- View full credits
The IMERG analysis combines almost 20 years of rain and snow data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the joint NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM).
The daily cycle of weather, also known as the diurnal cycle, shapes how and when our weather develops and is fundamental to regulating our climate.
Complete transcript available.
Music Credits: "Battle For Our Future" and "Wonderful Orbit" by Tom Furse Fairfax Cowan [PRS], "Transitions" by Ben Niblett [PRS] and Jon Cotton [PRS], "Emerging Discovery by "Rik Carter [PRS] from Killer Tracks
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Data visualizers
- Alex Kekesi (GST) [Lead]
- Jackson Boon Sze Tan (USRA) [Lead]
Scientists
- Dalia B Kirschbaum (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- George Huffman (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Stephen J. Munchak (University of Maryland) [Lead]
Producers
- Joy Ng (KBRwyle) [Lead]
- Ryan Fitzgibbons (KBRwyle) [Lead]
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Related pages
Precipitation Accumulation and Anomalies
Oct. 16th, 2019
Read more2015-2016 Precipitation Accumulation 2015-2016 Precipitation Anomalies featuring El Nino. This visualization of the precipitation from IMERG, averaged over 90 days, shows how the broad patterns of global precipitation fluctuate during this particular time period. Unlike the climatology, the vigorous, relatively small-scale precipitation systems create a very "lumpy", continually evolving pattern. Most notably here, the 2015-2016 El Niño is one of the strongest on record. The changes in the atmospheric circulation shift the rainfall that typically falls in the western Pacific—over Southeast Asia and northern Australia—to the central or eastern Pacific. The anomalies show the deviation from the normal seasonal cycle of precipitation. These maps help interpret the accumulation maps by isolating attention on the changes. Most notably here, the 2015-2016 El Niño is one of the strongest on record. The changes in the atmospheric circulation shift the rainfall that typically falls in the western Pacific—over Southeast Asia and northern Australia—to the central or eastern Pacific. As well, there are dry conditions across the Caribbean, tropical Atlantic, and northern South America. This display reduces the welter of "ordinary" precipitation and focuses attention on the systematic changes that are persistent, but not necessarily large enough to be readily noticed in the accumulations. Related pages
NASA Remasters Nearly 20 Years of Global Rain
Oct. 15th, 2019
Read moreMusic: "Synchronicity," "The Ocean and the Moon," "Cloud Surfing," Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available. NASA has just released its newest and most comprehensive estimate of rain and snow covering nearly 20 years. Version 6 of NASA's IMERG -- the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) -- combines information from a constellation of satellties are operating in Earth orbit, at a given time, to estimate precipitation over the majority of the Earth's surface. This algorithm is particularly valuable over the majority of the Earth's surface that lacks precipitation-measuring instruments on the ground. What is new in Version 6 IMERG is that the algorithm can now fuse the early precipititation estimates collected in 2000-2014 during the operation of the TRMM satellite with more recent precipitation estimates collected during operation of the GPM satellite. The longer the record, the more valuable it is, as researchers and application developers will attest. TRMM and GPM are two satellites specially designed to provide the most reliable space-based estimates of preciptiation, and both satellites are joint missions between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). For More InformationSee [http://gpm.nasa.gov](http://gpm.nasa.gov) Related pages
Grand Average Precipitation Climatology
Oct. 15th, 2019
Read moreGrand Average Precipitation Climatology Colorbar for the IMERG Grand Average Climatology dataset. Cooler colors are areas that receive very little rain. Warm colors receive more rain. Alternative colorbar for the IMERG Grand Average Climatology with white outline and white text. The Grand Average Climatology dataset covers June 2000 to May 2019. It shows the well-known structure of global precipitation: Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) near the Equator, South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) and smaller South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ), relatively dry subtropical highs, and mid-latitude storm tracks. The relatively fine spatial resolution (0.1° lat./lon.) gives a more detailed picture than the previous NASA product (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [TRMM] Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis [TMPA], 0.25°), and its near-global coverage, better sampling in time, and improved algorithms provide wider coverage and more confidence in the results. The satellite input allows NASA researchers to estimate precipitation over both land and ocean, which networks of surface sensors do not provide. The most reliable estimates are provided over ocean; warm land is second-best, coastal areas are third, and snow/ice-covered regions are least certain. Related pages
Precipitation Diurnal Cycles
Oct. 15th, 2019
Read moreContinental United StatesThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. Florida and SoutheastThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. The heat from the Sun builds up over the course of a day, culminating in afternoon thunderstorms over land. Near the coast, this is further accentuated by coastal breezes, feeding the rainfall systems over land with moisture from the sea. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. NortheastThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. The heat from the Sun builds up over the course of a day, culminating in afternoon thunderstorms over land. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. Midwest and Great PlainsThis IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes around the day during the summer months of June, July and August. Over the Great Plains, thunderstorms flare up east of the Rocky Mountains in the late afternoon and roll eastwards over the night across the central U.S. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. West Coast (winter)This IMERG visualization depicts the average amount of rainfall every 30 minutes throughout the day during the winter months of December, January and February. The average precipitation varies weakly over the course of a day, but the coastal regions generally receive similar amounts of precipitation at any hour, day or night. During the winter, precipitation systems in this region are driven less by the daily cycle of heating from the Sun and more by atmospheric rivers coming in from the Pacific Ocean. This detailed information on the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the globe can help improve numerical weather and climate models by providing a reliable dataset based on observations. The daily cycle of weather, also known as the diurnal cycle, shapes how and when our weather develops and is fundamental to regulating our climate. These animations show the most detailed view of the diurnal cycles over the United States. They were created using NASA's newest extended precipitation record known as the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM, or IMERG analysis.The IMERG analysis combines almost 20 years of rain and snow data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the joint NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM).Learn more at NASA.gov. Related pages
IMERG Daily Climatology
Oct. 14th, 2019
Read moreExample composite showing the daily climatology along with the appropriate month and colorbar. Daily Climatology with a 30 day trailing average. Colorbar for IMERG Daily Climatology. Cooler colors are areas that receive very little precipitation. Warmer colors receive more precipitation. Alternative IMERG daily climatology colorbar. Text and colorbar outline are white. Blank Earth Map used for compositing. Month overlay layer for compositing. The daily climatology dataset covers January 2001 to December 2018, computed as a trailing 30-day average to reduce the random noise due to isolated big events. Notable features include the annual cycle of the InterTropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) following the motion of the Sun (with a time lag) over both land and ocean, the seasonal shift of the Asian Monsoon between South Asia in the boreal summer and Australia in the boreal winter, the North American Monsoon in the late boreal summer in northern Mexico and southwestern U.S., and the dry summer/wet winter pattern in the Mediterranean Sea area and the west coast of the U.S. Related pages
A 3D Look at the 2015 El Niño
May 26th, 2017
Read moreScientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have combined ocean measurements with cutting-edge supercomputer simulations to analyze the 2015-2016 El Niño in three dimensions. This visualization looks at the top 225 meters of the ocean, showing warmer than normal water in red, colder than normal water in blue. In the second half, current information is included, with east-flowing currents in yellow and west-flowing currents in white.Music: Bourrée from Handel's Water MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. El Niño is a recurring climate pattern characterized by warmer than usual ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. Two back-to-back 3-D visualizations track the changes in ocean temperatures and currents, respectively, throughout the life cycle of the 2015-2016 El Niño event, chronicling its inception in early 2015 to its dissipation by April 2016. Blue regions represent colder and red regions warmer temperatures when compared with normal conditions.Under normal conditions, equatorial trade winds in the Pacific Ocean blow from east to west, causing warm water to pile up in the Western Pacific, while also causing an upwelling—the rise of deep, cool water to the surface—in the Eastern Pacific. During an El Niño, trade winds weaken or, as with this latest event, sometimes reverse course and blow from west to east. As a result, the warm surface water sloshes east along the equator from the Western Pacific and temporarily predominates in the Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean. At that same time, cooler water slowly migrates westward just off the equator in the Western Pacific. The first visualization shows the 2015-2016 El Niño through changes in sea surface temperature as warmer water moves east across the Pacific Ocean. The Eastern Pacific Ocean undergoes the most warming from July 2015 to January 2016. In the west, just to the north of the equator, cooler waters hit the western boundary and reflect along the equator and then head east starting in February 2016. Just as the warming waves traveled east earlier in the video, these cool waters make their way to the central Pacific, terminating the warming event there. Hand-in-hand with an El Niño’s changing sea surface temperatures are the wind-driven ocean currents that move the waters along the equator across the Pacific Ocean. The second visualization depicts these currents, which here comprise the ocean’s surface to a depth of 225 meters: Yellow arrows illustrate eastward currents and white arrows are westward currents. The El Niño-inducing westerlies—winds coming from the west that blow east—cause the eastward currents to occur in pulses. A good example of one of these pulses can be seen hitting the South American coast on May 15, 2015. By the end of February 2016 trade winds return, as evidenced by the return of westward currents and cool water along the equator, signaling the dissipation of the El Niño.These visualizations are derived from NASA Goddard’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, using Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) dataset, which comprises an optimal combination of observations and ocean and atmospheric models. For more information, see https://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/reanalysis/MERRA/. Related pages
GPM Core Spacecraft Beauty Passes
Oct. 31st, 2013
Read moreVarious 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