Solar Energy News  
EARTH OBSERVATION
NASA's TRMM Satellite Maps Flood Potential

The TRMM satellite rainfall map from August 6 through Aug. 13 shows up to 3.9 inches or 100 millimeters (yellow-green) of rain has fallen in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce
by Staff Writers
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 16, 2010
Tropical Depression Five (TD5) may not be a tropical depression anymore, but NASA's TRMM satellite has noticed that its remnant low pressure circulation is making for a very bad and wet Friday the 13th for residents from southeastern Louisiana east to the Florida panhandle.

Even when a tropical system gets downgraded into a low pressure area, there is still the possibility of inland flooding from heavy rainfall, and that's what this low is creating.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) has been called a "rain gauge in space" and can provide accurate measurements of rainfall in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world.

TRMM data, along with information from other satellites, allows researchers to see how much rain is falling over most of the world every three hours and map areas of potential flooding.

Maps that show areas of potential floods use precipitation radar data and high resolution measurements of water content of clouds made by microwave radiometers.

Those rainfall maps were made into a nine day "movie loop" that allows users to track storms as they travel over land and oceans around the globe. The rainfall animations are developed in the Laboratory for Atmospheres of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. by the TRMM precipitation research team.

The TRMM animated flood map from August 4 to August 13 shows the track and development of three tropical systems: TD5, Estelle (in the eastern Pacific) and Colin (in the Atlantic).

The animation shows TD5 formed on August 10 as "System 94L" and became Tropical Depression 5 on August 11. On August 13 in the animation, southeastern Louisiana is mapped in yellow indicating the potential for flooding.

On Friday, August 13, the center of tropical depression five's (TD5) remnants were located over the Gulf of Mexico stretching from southeast Louisiana, east to the Florida panhandle. TD5's remnants have already generated up to five inches of rainfall in portions of southeastern Louisiana since Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


EARTH OBSERVATION
NASA Releases New Image Of Massive Greenland Iceberg
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 16, 2010
On Aug. 5, 2010, an enormous chunk of ice, about 251 square kilometers (97 square miles) in size, or roughly four times the size of Manhattan, broke off the Petermann Glacier along the northwestern coast of Greenland. The Petermann Glacier lost about one-quarter of its 70-kilometer-long (40-miles) floating ice shelf, according to researchers at the University of Delaware, Newark, Dela. The ... read more







EARTH OBSERVATION
Wide Range Of Plants Offer Cellulosic Biofuel Potential, Ecological Diversity

Linde Starts Up New York Carbon Dioxide Plant

Switchgrass Lessens Soil Nitrate Loss Into Waterways

ICCC Lab Becomes National Leader In Biodiesel Testing

EARTH OBSERVATION
Star Wars Meets UPS As Robonaut Packed For Space

Planet rover stretches its legs

First robot with 'emotions' unveiled

U.S. robot teams set for Aussie face-off

EARTH OBSERVATION
Canada looks to utilize wind energy

LADWP Approves New Wind Project

German wind growth down, exports strong

Study Shows Stability And Utility Of Floating Wind Turbines

EARTH OBSERVATION
GM, China's SAIC to co-develop core technology

Car Lighting Makeover Impacts Feel Of Safety And Style

Scots scientists create car biofuel from whisky by-products

Electric vehicles aim for 'longest and greenest' world tour

EARTH OBSERVATION
Australia looks to ocean waves for energy

Scientists say US figures on spilled oil in Gulf too low

Wax, Soap Clean Up Obstacles To Better Batteries

Which Type Of Electricity Generation Has The Least Impact On Climate?

EARTH OBSERVATION
Carbon capture needs a price -- study

Despite efforts, France fails to curb CO2

Graphene Exhibits Bizarre New Behavior Well Suited To Electronic Devices

German power plant testing CO2-scrubbing algae

EARTH OBSERVATION
Africa's Cell Phone Boom Can't Trump Dire Needs

Method proposed for power demand 'spikes'

German utilities blasted over power prices

South African energy execs' pay questioned

EARTH OBSERVATION
US converts Brazilian debt into environmental protection

Global Tropical Forests Threatened By 2100

Winds of political change blow through Malaysian jungles

Indonesia 'woefully inadequate' on illegal loggers: probe


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement