NASA GHRC Collaboration between NASA MSFC and The University of Alabama in Huntsville
  • Access Data
    • Dataset List (HyDRO)
      • View a list of all GHRC dataset holdings using our custom search tool, HyDRO.
    • Search (HyDRO)
      • HyDRO is GHRC's custom dataset search and order tool.

        With HyDRO, you can search, discover, and filter GHRC's dataset holdings.

        HyDRO will also help you find information about browse imagery, access restrictions, and dataset guide documents.
    • Coincidence Search
      • The GHRC Coincidence Search Engine (CSE) may be used to search for times when up to four satellites were over or within the same geographic area simultaneously.

        Searches may be constrained by time, geographic area, and/or distance between the satellites.
    • THREDDS
      • This is our current OPeNDAP server.

        You can access, download, and subset selected datasets with THREDDS. You can also obtain WMS links and applicable documentation and browse images for some datasets.
    • Storm Tracks DB
      • The Tropical Storm Tracks database is derived from the storm data published by the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

        This web page provides a convenient user interface for casually browsing storm information, including location, category, and wind speed.
    • NASA Earthdata Search
      • Earthdata is NASA's next generation metadata and service discovery tool, providing search and access capabilities for dataset holdings at all of the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) including the GHRC.
    • Latest Data (HyDRO)
      • View the latest additions to our data holdings using HyDRO.
  • Measurements
  • Field Campaigns
    • Hurricane Science
      • GHRC has worked with NASA's Hurricane Science Research Program (HSRP) since the 1990's. We are the archive and distribution center for data collected during HSRP field campaigns, as well as the recent Hurricane Science and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Earth Venture mission. Field campaigns provide for intensive observation of specific phenomena using a variety of instruments on aircraft, satellites and surface networks.

        GHRC also hosts a database of Atlantic and Pacific tropical storm tracks derived from the storm data published by the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
    • HS3 (2012-14)
      • Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) is an Earth Ventures – Suborbital 1 mission aimed at better understanding the physical processes that control hurricane intensity change, addressing questions related to the roles of environmental conditions and internal storm structures to storm intensification.

        A variety of in-situ, satellite observations, airborne data, meteorological analyses, and simulation data were collected with missions over the Atlantic in August and September of three observation years (2012, 2013, 2014). These data are available at GHRC beginning in 2015.
    • GRIP (2010)
      • The Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) experiment was a NASA Earth science field experiment in 2010 that was conducted to better understand how tropical storms form and develop into major hurricanes.

        The GRIP deployment was 15 August – 30 September 2010 with bases in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the DC-8, at Houston, TX for the WB-57, and at NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, CA for the Global Hawk.
    • TC4 (2007)
      • The NASA TC4 (Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling) mission investigated the structure and properties of the chemical, dynamic, and physical processes in atmosphere of the tropical Eastern Pacific.

        TC4 was based in San Jose, Costa Rica during July 2007.

        The Real Time Mission Monitor provided simultaneous aircraft status for three aircraft during the TC4 experiment. During TC4, the NASA ER-2, WB-57 and DC-8 aircraft flew missions at various times. The science flights were scheduled between 17 July and 8 August 2007.
    • NAMMA (2006)
      • The NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) campaign was a field research investigation based in the Cape Verde Islands, 350 miles off the coast of Senegal in west Africa.

        Commenced in August 2006, NASA scientists employed surface observation networks and aircraft to characterize the evolution and structure of African Easterly Waves (AEWs) and Mesoscale Convective Systems over continental western Africa, and their associated impacts on regional water and energy budgets.
    • TCSP (2005)
      • The Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) mission was an Earth science field research investigation focused on the study of the dynamics and thermodynamics of precipitating cloud systems and tropical cyclones. TCSP was conducted during the period July 1-27, 2005 out of the Juan Santamaria Airfield in San Jose, Costa Rica.

        The TCSP field experiment flew 12 NASA ER-2 science flights, including missions to Hurricanes Dennis and Emily, Tropical Storm Gert and an eastern Pacific mesoscale complex that may possibly have further developed into Tropical Storm Eugene.
    • ACES (2002)
      • The Altus Cumulus Electrification Study (ACES) was aimed at better understanding the causes and effects of electrical storms.

        Based at the Naval Air Station Key West in Florida, researchers in August 2002 chased down thunderstorms using an uninhabited aerial vehicle, or "UAV", allowing them to achieve dual goals of gathering weather data safely and testing new aircraft technology. This marked the first time a UAV was used to conduct lightning research.
    • CAMEX-4 (2001)
      • The Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX) was a series of NASA-sponsored hurricane science field research investigations. The fourth field campaign in the CAMEX series (CAMEX-4) was held in 16 August - 24 September, 2001 and was based out of Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Florida.

        CAMEX-4 was focused on the study of tropical cyclone (hurricane) development, tracking, intensification, and landfalling impacts using NASA-funded aircraft and surface remote sensing instrumentation.
    • CAMEX-3 (1998)
      • The Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX) is a series of hurricane science field research investigations sponsored by NASA. The third field campaign in the CAMEX series (CAMEX-3) was based at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida from 6 August - 23 September, 1998.

        CAMEX-3 successfully studied Hurricanes Bonnie, Danielle, Earl and Georges, yielding data on hurricane structure, dynamics, and motion. CAMEX-3 collected data for research in tropical cyclone development, tracking, intensification, and landfalling impacts using NASA-funded aircraft and surface remote sensing instrumentation.
    • GPM Ground Validation
      • The NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) Ground Validation (GV) program includes the following field campaigns:

        a) LPVEx, Gulf of Finland in autumn 2010, to study rainfall in high latitude environments

        b) MC3E, cental Oklahoma spring and early summer 2011, to develop a complete characterization of convective cloud systems, precipitation and the environment

        c) GCPEx, Ontario, Canada winter of 2011-2012, direct and remove sensing observations, and coordinated model simulations of precipitating snow.

        d) IFloodS, Iowa, spring and early summer 2013, to study the relative roles of rainfall quantities and other factors in flood genesis.

        e) IPHEx, N. Carolina Appalachians/Piedmont region May-June 2014, for hydrologic validation over varied topography.

        f) OLYMPEx, Washington's Olympic Peninsula scheduled November 2015-February 2016, for hydrologic validation in extreme coastal and topographic gradients
    • OLYMPEX (Upcoming)
      • The OLYMPEX field campaign is scheduled to take place between November, 2015, and February, 2016, on the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

        This field campaign will provide ground-based validation support of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite program that is a joint effort between NASA and JAXA.

        As for all GPM-GV campaigns, the GHRC will provide a collaboration portal to help investigators exchange planning information and to support collection of real-time data as well as mission science, project and instrument status reports during the campaign.
    • IPHEx (2014)
      • The Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) was conducted in North Carolina during the months of April-June, 2014.

        IPHEx sought to characterize warm season orographic precipitation regimes, and the relationship between precipitation regimes and hydrologic processes in regions of complex terrain.
    • IFLOODs (2013)
      • The Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) experiment was conducted in the central to northeastern part of Iowa in Midwestern United States during the months of April-June, 2013.

        IFloodS' primary goal was to discern the relative roles of rainfall quantities such as rate and accumulation as compared to other factors (e.g. transport of water in the drainage network) in flood genesis.
    • GCPEX (2011-2012)
      • The GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) occurred in Ontario, Canada during the winter season (Jan 15- Feb 26) of 2011-2012.

        GCPEx addressed shortcomings in GPM snowfall retrieval algorithm by collecting microphysical properties, associated remote sensing observations, and coordinated model simulations of precipitating snow. Collectively the GCPEx data set provides a high quality, physically-consistent and coherent data set suited to the development and testing of GPM snowfall retrieval algorithm physics.
    • MC3E (2011)
      • The Mid-latitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) took place in central Oklahoma during the April–June 2011 period.

        The overarching goal was to provide the most complete characterization of convective cloud systems, precipitation, and the environment that has ever been obtained, providing constraints for model cumulus parameterizations and space-based rainfall retrieval algorithms over land that had never before been available.
    • LPVEx (2010)
      • The Light Precipitation Evaluation Experiment (LPVEx) took place in the Gulf of Finland in September and October, 2010 and collected microphysical properties, associated remote sensing observations, and coordinated model simulations of high latitude precipitation systems to drive the evaluation and development of precipitation algorithms for current and future satellite platforms.

        In doing so, LPVEx sought to address the general lack of dedicated ground-validation datasets from the ongoing development of new or improved algorithms for detecting and quantifying high latitude rainfall
  • Projects
    • HS3 Suborbital Mission
      • Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) is an Earth Ventures – Suborbital 1 mission aimed at better understanding the physical processes that control hurricane intensity change, addressing questions related to the roles of environmental conditions and internal storm structures to storm intensification.
    • DISCOVER - MEaSUREs
      • DISCOVER was funded by NASA’s MEaSUREs program to provide highly accurate, multi-decadal geophysical products derived from satellite microwave sensors.
    • LIS Mission
      • Lightning observations from the Lightning Imaging Sensors (LIS) aboard the NASA’s TRMM satellite and International Space Station, as well as airborne observations and ground validation data.
    • SANDS
      • The SANDS project addressed Gulf of Mexico Alliance priority issues by generating enhanced imagery from MODIS and Landsat data to identify suspended sediment resulting from tropical cyclones. These tropical cyclones have significantly altered normal coastal processes and characteristics in the Gulf region through sediment disturbance.
    • LANCE AMSR2
      • The Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) system provides access to near real-time data (less than 3 hours from observation) from AIRS, AMSR2, MLS, MODIS, and OMI instruments. LANCE AMSR2 products are generated by the AMSR Science Investigator-led Processing System at the GHRC.
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      • A collection of tools & technologies developed and/or used by GHRC.
    • Publications
      • View GHRC & ITSC publications on the ITSC website
    • Innovations Lab
      • The GHRC Innovations Lab is a showcase for emerging geoinformatics technologies resulting from NASA-sponsored research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
    • Educational Resources
      • A list of resources from NASA, MSFC, and other sources for teachers and students focused on global change, hydrology, and science education.
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DOCUMENTATION

Documentation

Guide Documents

Dataset PI Documents

Dataset Software

NASA Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) Datasets

Table of Contents

Introduction
Campaigns
     GRIP
     NAMMA
RTMM Dataset Descriptions
     GRIP Flight Tracks and Animations
     NAMMA DC-8 Navigation and Housekeeping (ICATS)
Investigators
File Naming Convention
Data Format
Citation
References
Contact Information

Introduction

The NASA Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) is a situational awareness tool that integrates satellite, airborne and surface data sets; weather information; model and forecast outputs; and vehicle state data (e.g., aircraft navigation, satellite tracks and instrument field-of-views) for field experiment management. RTMM optimizes science and logistic decision-making during field experiments by presenting timely data and graphics to the users to improve real time situational awareness of the experiment's assets. The integration and delivery of this information is made possible through data acquisition systems, network communication links and network server resources built and managed by Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) incorporating additional data from collaborating organizations as specified in each mission description.

Campaigns

The RTMM is proven in the field as it supported program managers, scientists, and aircraft personnel during the following field experiments.

GRIP

The Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) experiment was a NASA Earth science field experiment conducted August 5 to September 30, 2010. The major goal was to better understand how tropical storms form and develop into major hurricanes. NASA used the DC-8 aircraft, the WB-57 aircraft and the Global Hawk Unmanned Airborne System (UAS), configured with a suite of in situ and remote sensing instruments that were used to observe and characterize the lifecycle of hurricanes. This campaign also capitalized on a number of ground networks and space-based assets, in addition to the instruments deployed on aircraft from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida ( DC-8), Houston, Texas (WB-57), and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, California (Global Hawk). Collaboration with NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) and the Air Force 53rd Weather reconnaissance for the C130 provided aircraft tracking data to the RTMM. More information about this Campaign can be found on the GRIP web site: http://airbornescience.nsstc.nasa.gov/grip

NAMMA

The NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) campaign, a field research investigation sponsored by the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was based in the Cape Verde Islands, 350 miles off the coast of Senegal in west Africa. Commencing in August 2006, NASA scientists employed surface observation networks and aircraft to characterize the evolution and structure of African Easterly Waves (AEWs) and Mesoscale Convective Systems over continental western Africa, and their associated impacts on regional water and energy budgets. For more information about the NAMMA Campaign, go to the NAMMA web site: http://namma.nsstc.nasa.gov/

RTMM Dataset Descriptions

The NASA Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) optimizes science and logistic decision-making during field experiments by presenting timely data, graphics and visualizations to the users to improve real time situational awareness of the experiment's assets. Further details on RTMM are available at: http://rtmm.nsstc.nasa.gov/.

GRIP Flight Tracks and Animations

The GRIP Flight Tracks and Animations dataset includes both KML files and animation files. The KML files use Google Earth to show the flight tracks on a map. The animations vary by type. Created by the Real-time Mission Monitor (RTMM) software, the .avi files show the flight track versus time superimposed over the GOES IR data. The National SubOrbital Education and Research Center provided a file in two formats (.mov, .mp4) viewing hurricane Earl from the NASA DC-8 aircraft. Also a NBC newscast informs the public of the GRIP's goals during the campaign.

NAMMA DC-8 Navigation and Housekeeping (ICATS)

The NAMMA DC-8 Navigation and Housekeeping (ICATS) dataset contains an RTMM animation file. The .avi file shows the flight track versus time superimposed over satellite data.

Investigators

Michael Goodman
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, AL 35805

John Hall
The University of Alabama Huntsville
Huntsville, AL 35805

Matt He
The University of Alabama Huntsville
Huntsville, AL 35805

File Naming Convention

RTMM dataset files are of the form:

yyyy-mm-dd_[aircraft]_track.kml
yyyy-mm-dd_[campaign]_[additional_details].mov
yyyy-mm-dd_[campaign][additional_details].avi
yyyy-mm-dd_[campaign]_[additional_details].mp4

where

yyyy-mm-dd = year, month and day
campaign = the field campaign (GRIP, NAMMA, ...)
aircraft = aircraft designator (DC8, NOAA42, NOAA43, NOAA49, GV, N871NA, WB57, GIV)
additional_details = optional additional details used to identify the file (hurricane, aircraft, ...)
kml = Keyhole Markup Language
mov = Apple QuickTime Movie
avi = Audio Video Interleave
mp4 = MPEG-4

Data Format

The RTMM datasets contain Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files which can be viewed in Google Earth. Additionally the datasets have animations in mov, avi and mp4 format.

Citation

Our data sets are provided through the NASA Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project and the Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). GHRC DAAC is one of NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers that are part of the ESDIS project. ESDIS data are not copyrighted; however, in the event that you publish our data or results derived by using our data, we request that you include an acknowledgment within the text of the article and a citation on your reference list. Examples for general acknowledgments, data set citation in a reference listing, and crediting online web images and information can be found at: http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/uso/citation.html

References

Goodman, MH, Blakeslee R, Regner K, Meyer P, Conover H. 2011. Coordinating Aircraft During NASA Airborne Science Field Campaigns. Earth Science Technology Forum.

He, M, Blakslee R, Goodman M, The Waypoint Planning Tool: Real Time Flight Planning for Airborne Science. American Geophysical Union. 2010.

Blakeslee, RJ, Goodman M, Hardin DM, Hall J, He YM, Regner K, Conover H, Smith T, Meyer P, Lu J et al.. 2009. The 2nd Generation Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) Development. American Geophysical Union.

R. Blakeslee, J. Hall, M. Goodman, P. Parker, L. Freudinger and M. He, The Real Time Mission Monitor - A Situational Awareness Tool For Managing Experiment Assets, NASA Science and Technology Conference 2007, 19-21 June 2007, College Park, MD.

Contact Information

To order these data or for further information, please contact:

Global Hydrology Resource Center
User Services
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805
Phone: 256-961-7932
E-mail: support-ghrc@earthdata.nasa.gov
Web: http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/

 

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