http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. 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. http://phys.org/news254505171.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:52:58 EST news254505171 Tropical Storm Daphne has become an extra-tropical storm and is fading fast in the South Pacific Ocean, but not before making its mark on the Fuji Islands. NASA's TRMM satellite compiled rainfall data that revealed flooding rains fell in Fiji. http://phys.org/news252777905.html Space & Earth Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:05:25 EST news252777905 On March 30, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officially handed off a new satellite instrument to NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) was designed and built by JAXA and Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). http://phys.org/news252747377.html Space & Earth Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:36:27 EST news252747377 The first typhoon of the northern hemisphere 2012 typhoon season is headed for landfall in Vietnam. NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites have been providing forecasters with valuable data on Typhoon Pakhar, that includes rainfall rates, cloud extent and temperature. http://phys.org/news252352843.html Space & Earth Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:01:38 EST news252352843 (PhysOrg.com) -- Uncertainty just became more certain. Atmospheric and computational researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory used a new scientific approach called "uncertainty quantification," or UQ, that allowed them to better simulate precipitation. Their study is the first to apply a stochastic sampling method to select model inputs for precipitation representations and improve atmospheric simulations within a regional weather research and forecasting model. Their approach marks a significant advancement in representing precipitation, one of the most difficult climate components to simulate. http://phys.org/news251715096.html Space & Earth Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:20:01 EST news251715096 The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for the Global Precipitation Measurement GPM mission's Core Observatory arrived on Friday, March 16 and was unloaded today at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. http://phys.org/news251486006.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:13:39 EST news251486006 A tropical storm called Lua formed in the Indian Ocean off Australia's northwestern coast on March 13, 2012. NASA's TRMM satellite passed over Lua and observed moderate rainfall and strong towering thunderstorms within on March 13. By March 14, it was turning back toward Australia and storm warnings had been posted. http://phys.org/news250967449.html Space & Earth Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:10:55 EST news250967449 Hot towers, or towering thunderclouds that give off an excessive amount of latent heat, usually indicate a tropical cyclone will strengthen in six hours, and NASA's TRMM satellite saw some of them as it passed by Tropical Storm Koji. http://phys.org/news250534855.html Space & Earth Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:01:02 EST news250534855 Tropical Cyclone 15S has had a difficult "childhood." It was born on March 1 and immediately dealt with a harsh environment. The cyclone weakened within 24 hours to a remnant low pressure area, and NASA's TRMM satellite revealed there was still some strength remaining in the storm. http://phys.org/news249931751.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:29:30 EST news249931751 (PhysOrg.com) -- The Global Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument has arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. for integration into NASA's upcoming Earth science spacecraft. The instrument was built at the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. http://phys.org/news249898212.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:20:02 EST news249898212 A weak tropical low pressure area known as System 92S, and locally called Irina caused flooding over northern Madagascar less than two weeks after deadly flooding by Tropical Cyclone Giovanna in the south and central part of the island nation. NASA's TRMM satellite measured System 92S's rainfall over Madagascar, and measured some high rain totals. http://phys.org/news249671006.html Space & Earth Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:03:34 EST news249671006 Data from NASA's TRMM satellite was used to create a 3-Dimensional look at Cyclone Jasmine, currently moving through the South Pacific Ocean. http://phys.org/news248030995.html Space & Earth Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:30:09 EST news248030995 (PhysOrg.com) -- Japanese scientists and engineers have completed construction on a new instrument designed to take 3-D measurements of the shapes, sizes and other physical characteristics of both raindrops and snowflakes. The instrument will be shipped from Japan to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to be integrated into an upcoming NASA Earth science satellite. http://phys.org/news247998175.html Space & Earth Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:23:32 EST news247998175 Predicting the future is always a tricky business -- just watch a TV weather report. Weather forecasts have come a long way, but almost every season there's a snowstorm that seems to come out of nowhere, or one that's forecast as 'the big one' that turns out to be a total bust. http://phys.org/news247306015.html Space & Earth Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:07:19 EST news247306015 Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are making sure that money spent on sustaining and repairing arid rangeland ecosystems is spent on programs that work. http://phys.org/news246526581.html Biology Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:36:28 EST news246526581 (PhysOrg.com) -- Beginning Jan. 17, NASA will fly an airborne science laboratory, including a unique airborne radar built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., above Canadian snowstorms to tackle a difficult challenge facing the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission -- measuring snowfall from space. http://phys.org/news246086372.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:19:48 EST news246086372 Beginning Jan. 17, NASA will fly an airborne science laboratory above Canadian snowstorms to tackle a difficult challenge facing the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission -- measuring snowfall from space. http://phys.org/news245640425.html Space & Earth Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:27:25 EST news245640425 NASA's TRMM satellite noticed that as Tropical Storm Washi approached the Philippines' island of Mindanao heavy rainfall had become more widespread than the previous day. NASA's Terra satellite captured Washi making landfall early today. http://phys.org/news243279880.html Space & Earth Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:44:47 EST news243279880 With climate change posing a threat to food production around the world, scientists are developing a form of virtual time travel that can offer farmers in many countries a glimpse of their future by identifying regions where growing conditions today match those that will exist 20 years from now, according to a new report from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). http://phys.org/news242539610.html Space & Earth Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:07:14 EST news242539610 NASA's TRMM satellite passed over Tropical Storm Alenga and noticed that the rainfall has intensified in the storm in the last two days indicating that it continues strengthening. http://phys.org/news242497389.html Space & Earth Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:23:18 EST news242497389 The first tropical storm of the Southern Indian Ocean season has been renamed from Tropical Storm 01S to Tropical Storm Alenga as it continues to strengthen. NASA's TRMM satellite was able to capture a look at the rainfall rates and cloud heights within Alenga recently. http://phys.org/news242413639.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:07:30 EST news242413639 (PhysOrg.com) -- While the worst drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s grips Oklahoma and Texas, scientists are warning that what we consider severe drought conditions in North America today may be normal for the continent by the mid-21st century, due to a warming planet. http://phys.org/news242380798.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:30:01 EST news242380798 The hurricane season in the eastern Pacific isn't over and Hurricane Kenneth serves as a reminder that the season ends November 30. NASA satellite imagery shows Kenneth more organized than it appeared on Sunday, Nov. 20 and became a late season hurricane earlier today. http://phys.org/news241116134.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:10:01 EST news241116134 Tornadoes are expected to accompany severe storms in the springtime in the U.S., but this time of year they also usually happen. When a line of severe thunderstorms associated with a cold front swept through the U.S. southeast on Nov. 16, TRMM collected rainfall data on the dangerous storms from space. http://phys.org/news240856453.html Space & Earth Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:34:43 EST news240856453 Everyone knows that climate affects our water supply, but new research from North Carolina State University gives scientists and water-resource managers an unprecedented level of detail on how climate and precipitation influence groundwater and surface water levels in the Southeast. http://phys.org/news240747844.html Space & Earth Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:24:17 EST news240747844 Emissions regulations do have an environmental impact, according to a long-term study of acidic rainfall by researchers at the University of Illinois. http://phys.org/news240681097.html Space & Earth Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:52:08 EST news240681097 NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite called "TRMM" and NASA's Aqua satellite captured radar and temperature data that showed Tropical Storm Rina forming in the western Caribbean Sea yesterday. Today, Rina continues strengthening. http://phys.org/news238686879.html Space & Earth Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:54:45 EST news238686879 In the clean room at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Md., the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core satellite is steadily taking shape. Set to measure rainfall worldwide after launch in 2014, GPM's two solar panels are the latest components currently undergoing rigorous testing before being integrated with the spacecraft, a process that began seven months ago when the main structural elements went on an unusual ride. http://phys.org/news238324619.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:17:29 EST news238324619 Tropical Storm Philippe took its time to strengthen into a hurricane because of wind shear problems. The wind shear lessened, and Philippe became a hurricane today, after 12 days of moving across the Atlantic Ocean. NASA's TRMM satellite saw towering thunderstorms and intense rainfall within Philippe yesterday, which provided forecasters with a clue that the storm was strengthening. Philippe reached hurricane status this morning, Oct. 6, 2011. http://phys.org/news237139934.html Space & Earth Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:12:23 EST news237139934 Tropical Depression Nalgae weakened rapidly when it made landfall on Hainan Island, China yesterday and NASA's TRMM satellite observed lighter rainfall rates that coincided with its lower intensity. Today, Nalgae's remnants are moving drifting toward Vietnam. http://phys.org/news237055951.html Space & Earth Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:52:38 EST news237055951