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For the first time, a network of satellites will provide instantaneous projections of precipitation every three to four hours over 90 percent of the globe. NASA's newly-developed GPM project comprises a network, or "constellation," of nine internationally coordinated satellites that provide highly accurate and advanced precipitation measurements on a global scale from space. Used for a variety of scientific and societal applications, the mission delivers for the first time instantaneous projections of rain and snow patterns every three to four hours over 90 percent of the globe. It also enhances the way precipitation is observed in remote and complex regions of the world, including developing countries where detection is minimal.

The GPM mission serves to increase understanding of water and energy cycles, improve forecasting of extreme events that cause natural disasters, and extend capabilities of using this information to benefit society and the water sector, according to GPM's website. Further, it can enable industry leaders to better quantify hydrologic impacts on their utilities and water resources, potentially leading to improved water conservation, pollution-prevention measures, water treatment methods, energy and cost savings, customer service, and operations.

GPM's ability to convey precipitation data in a new timely, accurate and widely extensive manner can, for example, help water or wastewater operators decide what, if any, modifications should be made to their treatment applications or water storage systems. It can also advise experts in the agricultural sector to determine how much water will be available for sufficient crop growth or livestock cultivation. Likewise, it can help municipalities direct their focus toward maintaining infrastructure integrity and improving stormwater management as a whole - ultimately reducing water pollution and improving overall water quality in receiving local waterbodies.

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Since Jan. 1, Asheville has recorded 74.22 inches of rain, a whopping 29.49 inches above normal. This year’s total easily eclipses the old record of 64.91 inches set in 1973. The record-setting rainfall follows a year in 2012 in which the city recorded 44.66 inches of rain, close to the annual average of just more than 45 inches.

Heavy rain in January set the stage for what was to be a year-long pattern. Six months this year saw monthly totals of 6 inches or more, with the highest amounts in January (8.58 inches), June (8.97 inches) and July (13.69 inches).

The pattern of frequent, heavy rain resulted in dozens of landslides, a number of them affecting major roadways, and several homes were damaged.

The majority of the slides happened in January, May and July. Major roads affected included Interstate 40 on Old Fort Mountain, U.S. 441 in Swain County, U.S. 19 in Yancey and the Cherohala Skyway in Graham.

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Environmental research and weather forecasting are about to get a significant technology boost as NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) prepare to launch a new satellite in February.

NASA and JAXA selected 1:07 p.m. to 3:07 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27 (3:07 a.m. to 5:07 a.m. JST Friday, Feb. 28) as the launch date and launch window for a Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center.

GPM is an international satellite mission that will provide advanced observations of rain and snowfall worldwide, several times a day to enhance our understanding of the water and energy cycles that drive Earth's climate. The data provided by the Core Observatory will be used to calibrate precipitation measurements made by an international network of partner satellites to quantify when, where, and how much it rains or snows around the world.

"Launching this core observatory and establishing the Global Precipitation Measurement mission is vitally important for environmental research and weather forecasting," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington. "Knowing rain and snow amounts accurately over the whole globe is critical to understanding how weather and climate impact agriculture, fresh water availability, and responses to natural disasters."

With the addition of the new Core Observatory, the satellites in the GPM constellation will include the NASA-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership mission, launched in 2012; the NASA-JAXA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), launched in 1997; and several other satellites managed by JAXA, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, the Centre National D'Etudies Spatiales of France and the Indian Space Research Organisation.

"We will use data from the GPM mission not only for Earth science research but to improve weather forecasting and respond to meteorological disasters," said Shizuo Yamamoto, executive director of JAXA. "We would also like to aid other countries in the Asian region suffering from flood disasters by providing data for flood alert systems. Our dual-frequency precipitation radar, developed with unique Japanese technologies, plays a central role in the GPM mission."

The GPM Core Observatory builds on the sensor technology developed for the TRMM mission, with two innovative new instruments. The GPM Microwave Imager, built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo., will observe rainfall and snowfall at 13 different frequencies. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar, developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Tokyo, transmits radar frequencies that will detect ice and light rain, as well as heavier rainfall. It also will be able to measure the size and distribution of raindrops, snowflakes and ice particles.

For more information on the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm and http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/gpm/index_e.html

Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

The Real Story of Precipitation in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

If you walk into a cloud at the top of a mountain with a cup to slake your thirst, it might take a while for your cup to fill. The tiny, barely-there droplets are difficult to see, and for scientists they, along with rain and snow, are among the hardest variables to measure in Earth Science, says Ana Barros, professor of engineering at Duke University. As part of the Science Team for NASA's Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) that measure rainfall from space, Barros and her research team trekked into the Great Smoky Mountains and other areas of the southern Appalachian Mountains, to learn more about where, when and how rain falls in the rugged terrain. What they found was eye-opening: much of the water people counted on falls as light rain, and no one knew about it. Continue reading...

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