著者

NAKAMURA Kenji

出版者

Meteorological Society of Japan

雑誌

気象集誌. 第2輯 (ISSN:00261165)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.2021-035, (Released:2021-03-12)

被引用文献数

11

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The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was launched in 1997 and the observations continued for more than 17 years. The features of TRMM observation were as follows: (a) it followed a non-sun synchronized orbit that enabled diurnal variation of precipitation to be investigated, (b) it carried a precipitation radar and microwave and infrared radiometers, along with two instruments of opportunity in the form of a lighting sensor and a radiation budget sensor, and (c) it worked as a standard reference for precipitation measurements for other spaceborne microwave radiometers, which enabled global rain maps to be developed. For science, TRMM provided precise and accurate rain distributions over tropical and subtropical regions. The rainfall results are primarily important for the study of the precipitation climatologies, while the three-dimensional images of precipitation systems enabled the study of the global characteristics of precipitation systems. Technologically, the spaceborne rain radar onboard TRMM demonstrated the effectiveness of radars in space, while the combination with other rain observation instruments showed its effectiveness as a calibration source. Multi-satellite rain maps in which TRMM was the reference standard have been developed, and they became prototypes of the multi-satellite Earth observation systems. Based on the great success of TRMM, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) was designed to expand TRMM's coverage to higher latitudes. The core satellite of GPM is equipped with a dual frequency precipitation radar (DPR) and a microwave radiometer. DPR consists of a Ku-band radar (KuPR) and a Ka-band radar (KaPR) and has a capability to discriminate solid from liquid precipitation. The period of the precipitation measurement with spaceborne radars extended to more than 23 years which may make it possible to detect the change of precipitation climatology related to change in the global environment. While TRMM's and GPM's accomplishments are very broad, this paper tries to highlight Japan's contributions to the science of these missions.

著者

豊島 正実 松岡 利幸 大隈 智尚 山本 晃 大山 嘉将 田中 佐織 中村 健治 山田 龍作 井上 佑一 井上 清俊 西田 達 臼杵 則朗 Toyoshima Masami Matsuoka Toshiyuki Ohkuma Tomohisa Yamamoto Akira Ohyama Yoshimasa Tanaka Saori Nakamura Kenji Yamada Ryusaku Inoue Yuichi Inoue Kiyotoshi Nishida Tatsuya Usuki Noriaki トヨシマ マサミ マツオカ トシユキ オオクマ トモヒサ ヤマモト アキラ オオヤマ ヨシマサ タナカ サオリ ナカムラ ケンジ ヤマダ リュウサク イノウエ ユウイチ イノウエ キヨトシ ニシダ タツヤ ウスキ ノリアキ

出版者

日本医学放射線学会

雑誌

日本医学放射線学会雑誌 (ISSN:00480428)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.62, no.14, pp.836-838, 2002-12-25