hot towers

Hurricane Irma's Heat Engine Exposed
At 1 PM EDT (1700 UTC) on September 5, 2017, the radar on the Global Precipitation Measuring Mission (GPM) satellite captured this 3D view of the heat engine inside of category-5 Hurricane Irma. Under the central ring of clouds that circles the eye, water that had evaporated from the ocean surface condenses, releases heat, and powers the circling winds of the hurricane. The radar on the GPM satellite is able to estimate how much water is falling as precipitation inside of the hurricane, which serves as a guide to how much energy is being released inside the hurricane's central "heat engine."...

TRMM Mission Comes to an End

Submitted by JacobAdmin on Wed, 04/15/2015
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In 1997 when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM, was launched, its mission was scheduled to last just a few years. Now, 17 years later, the TRMM mission has come to an end. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stopped TRMM’s science operations and data collection on April 8 after the spacecraft depleted its fuel reserves.

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In 1997 when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM, was launched, its mission was scheduled to last just a few years. Now, 17 years later, the TRMM mission has come to an end. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stopped TRMM’s science operations and data collection on April 8 after the spacecraft depleted its fuel reserves. TRMM observed rainfall rates over the tropics and subtropics, where two-thirds of the world’s rainfall occurs. TRMM carried the first precipitation radar flown in space, which returned data that were made into 3-D imagery, enabling scientists...

Lecture: Finding Hot Towers in Hurricanes

Submitted by JacobAdmin on Fri, 01/31/2014
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Owen Kelley, research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,  discusses the science, the technology and the researcher who coined the term "hot tower" 50 years ago. During the past decade, NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite has been able to collect definitive statistics on the association of hot towers (towering thunderclouds) and hurricane intensification.

Hurricane Sandy (2012), the TRMM Satellite, and the Physics of the Hot Towers - Interview on KVMR Radio (audio only)

Submitted by JacobAdmin on Tue, 01/08/2013

Alan Stahler of community radio KVMR in Nevada City, California interviews NASA Goddard's Owen Kelley about hurricane physics, how TRMM measures precipitation, and the TRMM overflight of Hurricane Sandy one day before landfall. The 38-minute-long interview aired on the anniversary of the TRMM satellite's launch.