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Validation and Error Characterization for the Global Precipitation MeasurementThe Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international effort to increase scientific knowledge on the global water cycle with specific goals of improving the understanding and the predictions of climate, weather, and hydrology. These goals will be achieved through several satellites specifically dedicated to GPM along with the integration of numerous meteorological satellite data streams from international and domestic partners. The GPM effort is led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. In addition to the spaceborne assets, international and domestic partners will provide ground-based resources for validating the satellite observations and retrievals. This paper describes the validation effort of Global Precipitation Measurement to provide quantitative estimates on the errors of the GPM satellite retrievals. The GPM validation approach will build upon the research experience of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) retrieval comparisons and its validation program. The GPM ground validation program will employ instrumentation, physical infrastructure, and research capabilities at Supersites located in important meteorological regimes of the globe. NASA will provide two Supersites, one in a tropical oceanic and the other in a mid-latitude continental regime. GPM international partners will provide Supersites for other important regimes. Those objectives or regimes not addressed by Supersites will be covered through focused field experiments. This paper describes the specific errors that GPM ground validation will address, quantify, and relate to the GPM satellite physical retrievals. GPM will attempt to identify the source of errors within retrievals including those of instrument calibration, retrieval physical assumptions, and algorithm applicability. With the identification of error sources, improvements will be made to the respective calibration, assumption, or algorithm. The instrumentation and techniques of the Supersites will be discussed. The GPM core satellite, with its dual-frequency radar and conically scanning radiometer, will provide insight into precipitation drop-size distributions and potentially increased measurement capabilities of light rain and snowfall. The ground validation program will include instrumentation and techniques commensurate with these new measurement capabilities.
Document ID
20030093751
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Bidwell, Steven W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Adams, W. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Everett, D. F.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Smith, E. A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Yuter, S. E.
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2003
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2003 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
Location: Toulouse
Country: France
Start Date: July 1, 2003
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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