Space-Based Precipitation Measurements in Tropical Cyclones: Past, Present, and Future

Passive and active remote sensing of precipitation from space has led to significant advances in the understanding and prediction of tropical cyclones around the globe. This presentation will highlight the role of past NASA space-based measurements of precipitation by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM, 1998-2015), ongoing measurements by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (2014-current), and future measurements from the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS, nominal launch date in 2020) as well as a potential new mission on Aerosols, Clouds, Convection, and Precipitation (ACCP) from the 2017 NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey. TRMM, which flew the first precipitation radar in space, provided the first systematic descriptions of the radial and azimuthal variations of rainfall in tropical cyclones around the globe and their relationship to storm motion and vertical wind shear. GPM is the lynchpin of a global constellation of precipitation satellites that provides high spatial (0.1°) and temporal (30 min) resolution real-time estimates of precipitation globally, making them essential to applications related to tropical cyclone prediction, disaster response, flood and landslide monitoring, and vector-borne disease monitoring. TROPICS will be a constellation of 6 Cubesat satellites with microwave imaging and sounding channels that will provide information on temperature and humidity in the storm environment, as well as estimates of precipitation and tropical cyclone intensity. ACCP is yet to be fully defined, but is envisioned to potentially carry multi-frequency radar with possible Doppler capability.