| Session Details | |
| Section | AS - Atmospheric Sciences |
| Session Title | Precipitation Science and Application of Satellite Data in Asia |
| Main Convener | Prof. Yukari Takayabu (The University of Tokyo, Japan) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Gail Jackson (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, United States) Dr. Mi-Lim Ou (National Institute of Meteorological Research, Korea, South) Prof. Kenji Nakamura (Dokkyo University, Japan) Dr. Kusuma Rao (Indian Space Research Organization, India) |
| Session Description | Weather and climate in Asia are strongly affected by monsoon, and the ecosystem and human society in Asia are under strong influence of monsoon seasons. For understanding the Asian monsoon, precipitation data are essential. Precipitation data derived from satellite observations have been accumulated for more than 20 years. Especially, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, which was launched in 1997 and still in orbit, has provided us with continuous data on the three dimensional structures of precipitation systems and pioneered a new research discipline called “precipitation system climatology”. Seasonal change, the diurnal cycle of precipitation, and their regional characteristics etc., have been known by analyzing TRMM data and largely contributed to understanding of precipitation mechanisms and also have given a clue to improve precipitation in climate models. Additionally, Global precipitation map products have been developed using multi-satellite and microwave sensors. Near real-time rainfall map products such as, the GSMaP (Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation) project and TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis can be operationally used for weather forecasting, flood warning, river control, etc. Now, a new satellite project called the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is starting and its core satellite is scheduled for launch in early 2014 to obtain global precipitation data with advanced instrument capabilities beyond TRMM. One such advanced instrument on the GPM core satellite is the Dual Frequency Radar (GPM/DPR) that provides detailed information on the microphysical processes of precipitation. While the GPM core satellite will intercalibrate multiple satellite data to produce uniform global estimates around the globe, satellite derived precipitation data still have estimation errors depending on seasons and/or regions. Thus ground validations of satellite precipitation in different conditions are essential in the GPM project. Utilization of advanced satellite observations in precipitation science to improve numerical models and in assimilation studies are also important subjects. This session solicits studies on following topics: 1. Science of precipitation systems utilizing satellite and radar data. 2. Ground validation of satellite precipitation data 3. Applications of satellite precipitation data in Asia. |