UW, NASA measure rain and snowfall to gauge new precipitation satellite

The trailer is used to mount the instruments above accumulating snow pack. The i
The trailer is used to mount the instruments above accumulating snow pack. The instruments on the trailer operate unmanned throughout the winter season. University of Washington
For the next six weeks, University of Washington scientists will be working with NASA to study precipitation in one of the rainiest parts of the country, during one of its rainiest seasons. With high-tech weather radars, weather balloons, ground instruments and NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory, scientists will be watching rain and snow storms on Washington's famously wet Olympic Peninsula. The project's goal is to calibrate measurements made by the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite, which promise a next-generation view of rain and snow around the planet. The Olympic Peninsula is one of the few rainforests in the world located outside the tropics. Scientists and UW graduate students have spent the fall placing storm-tracking equipment on the ground. The same topography and unique climate that made it a natural laboratory for the experiment have earned much of the area status as a national park. The team has carried equipment in by truck, by foot and even by mule.
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