1. TRMM
Observa,on
For
Global
Rainfall
Predic,on
And
Flood
Monitoring
Presented By:
Presha Joshi
Shristi Nhuchhe Pradhan
Academic Supervisor:
Dr. Nanda Bikram Adhikari
Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Nepal
January 24, 2010

2. INTRODUCTION
• Tropical
Rainfall
Measuring
Mission
(TRMM)
• Before
TRMM
global
distribu8on
of
rainfall
at
the
Earth's
surface
had
uncertain8es
of
the
order
of
50%
• Measures
the
ver8cal
distribu8on
of
precipita8on
over
the
tropics
in
a
band
between
35
degrees
north
and
south
la8tudes
• Improves
modelling
of
tropical
rainfall
processes
and
their
influence
on
global
circula8on

3. INSTRUMENTS
IN
TRMM
§ Precipita8on
Radar
(PR)
Ø Horizontal
resolu8on:
3.1
miles
(5
km)
Ø Swath
width:
154
miles
(247
km)
Ø Ver8cal
profiles:
about
12
miles
(20
km).
Ø Radar
frequency
:
3
8mes
greater
than
a
ground
radar
§ TRMM
microwave
imager
(TMI)
Ø Passive
microwave
sensor
Ø Provide
quan8ta8ve
rainfall
informa8on
over
a
wide
swath
under
the
TRMM
satellite.
Ø Quan8fy
the
water
vapour,
the
cloud
water,
and
the
rainfall
intensity
in
the
atmosphere
http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov

4. INSTRUMENTS
IN
TRMM
(contd...)
§ Visible
and
InfraRed
Scanner
(VIRS)
Ø Senses
radia8on
coming
up
from
the
Earth
in
five
spectral
regions,
ranging
from
visible
to
infrared
Ø Can
be
used
to
determine
the
brightness
(visible
and
near
infrared)
or
temperature
(infrared)
of
the
source.
§ Cloud
and
Earth
Radiant
Energy
Sensors
(CERES)
Ø Study
the
energy
exchanged
between
the
Sun;
the
Earth’s
atmosphere,
surface
and
clouds;
and
space.
Ø Es8mate
energy
levels
within
the
atmosphere
and
at
the
Earth’s
surface.
§ Lightning
Imaging
Sensor
(LIS)
Ø Detects
and
locates
lightning
over
the
tropical
region
of
the
globe.

5. TRMM
ORBITS
http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov

6. AVERAGE
RAINFALL
OF
PAST
3
DAYS
http://precip.gsfc.nasa.gov

7. Rain
informa8on
from
Real-­‐Time
TRMM
Mul8-­‐Satellite
Precipita8on
Analysis

9. ASIA
Disaster
Watch
Early
May
2008
Cyclone
Nargis
at
Burma
•
Worst
natural
disaster
in
the
history
of
Burma
•
Deadliest
named
cyclone
in
the
North
Indian
Ocean
Basin
•
Category
4
cyclone(very
severe)
•
Landfall
on
May
2,
2008
•
Wind
speed:
132
mph
Rainfall
analysis
derived
from
TRMM's
Precipita,on
Radar
(PR)
and
TRMM
Microwave
Imager
instruments
(TMI)
overlaid
on
infrared
and
visible
images
from
TRMM's
Visible
and
Infrared
Scanner
(VIRS).

10. Flood
inunda,on
maps
of
Burma
as
tropical
cyclone
NARGIS
moved
in
from
Bay
of
Bengal
from
April
25
to
May
5,
2008
Cyclone
NARGIS
track
•
>1,38,000
death
•
>1
million
homeless
•
Damage:
$10
billion
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

11. •
Flooding
and
landslides
due
to
heavy
rainfall
•
The
TRMM-­‐based,
near-­‐real
,me
Mul,-­‐satellite
Precipita,on
Analysis
(MPA)
at
the
NASA
Goddard
Space
Flight
Center
monitors
rainfall
over
the
global
Tropics.
•
Rainfall
amounts
upwards
of
400
mm
(15.7
Inches)
are
shown
in
red
over
southern
Burma.

12. The
most
populous
division
and
most
affected
division
of
Burma,
Ayeyarwady
Near
landfall
on
Burma
Seen
from
MODIS
on
the
Terra
Satellite,
May2
The
low
lying
Irrawady
Delta
was
the
hardest
hit
region.
Eleva,on
data
is
based
on
NASA
Shu_le
Radar
Topography
Mission
(SRTM)
http://www.nasa.govhttp://en.wikipedia.org

13. Homes
destroyed
in
the
city
of
Yangon,
Burma
An
aerial
view
of
destruc,on
caused
by
Nargis
People
devastated
Satellite
photography:
Before
and
Aaer
Nargis
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

14. OBSERVATION
ON
May
5,
2008
•
Image
by
Moderate
Resolu,on
Imaging
Spectroradiometer
(MODIS)
sensors
on
NASA’s
Terra
and
Aqua
satellites.
•
Cloud-­‐free
observa,ons
to
get
the
clearest
possible
picture
•
Flooded
areas
are
blue,
ci,es
are
red,
and
tree
cover
appears
in
shades
of
green
(dense
tree
cover)
to
pale
yellow
(sparse
tree
cover)
•
Flooding
appears
to
be
more
intense
in
areas
with
fewer
trees
•
Cyclone
Nargis
flooded
about
14,402
square
kilometers
in
the
Irrawaddy
River
Delta
in
Burma

15. CONCLUSION
• TRMM
observa8ons
helped
in
the
modeling
of
tropical
rainfall
processes
and
their
influence
on
global
circula8on
leading
to
beber
predic8ons
of
rainfall
and
its
variability
at
various
8me
scales.
• Remote
sensing
techniques
are
used
to
measure
and
monitor
the
extent
of
flooded
areas
and
es8mate
the
amount
of
land
and
infrastructure
affected.

16.
THANK
YOU
!

17. QUESTIONS ?