Chapter 2:

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Related Literature

This chapter of the study presents a review of existing literatures related to the //. The

literature that has been reviewed offers insightful information about the methodology, results,

and ramifications relevant to the present study.

2.1.1 Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), the global-scale quantification of

precipitation utilizing multiple satellite observations, provides an unrivaled vantage point in

terms of observing precipitation spatially and temporally. This study provides an overall

assessment of global precipitation estimation, providing insightful knowledge about precipitation

[1]
for future satellite precipitation missions (Kidd & Huffman, 2011) . The GPM mission, led by

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japan Aerospace

Exploration Agency (JAXA) and launched in February 2014, is a mission using a network of

satellites internationally to provide next-generation global observations of precipitation. The

successor of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the GPM has a core observatory

satellite carrying advanced radar and radiometric systems that will help in the measurement of

precipitation, understanding of the Earth’s natural processes, and forecasting of extreme events

(NASA, n.d.) [2].

The GPM mission provided unprecedented and highly useful global precipitation

datasets, and by merging the GPM multisatellite estimates with other IR satellite data, it

produced high temporal and spatial resolution. GPM also produced precipitation data on micro-
to global scales, providing fundamental knowledge and complementing other NASA satellites
[3]
(Skofronick-Jackson et al., 2017) . The GPM has two instruments aboard the GPM Core

Observatory (CO) satellite, which is the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar and GPM

Microwave Imager.

2.1.2 GPM Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)

The Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar, a spaceborne precipitation radar that is much

more sensitive than TRMM, is capable of making accurate rainfall measurements. Onboard the

GPM CO, DPR consists of Ku-band precipitation radar (KuPR) and Ka-band precipitation radar

(KaPR), with Ku-band operating at 13.6 GHz and Ka-band at 35.5 GHz (NASA, n.d.) [2].

The DPR onboard the GPM core satellite will be the second space-borne,

following the PR of the TRMM satellite launched in November 1997. Consisting of two band

channels, the Ka-band and Ku-band. The major errors from TRMM/PR for rainfall estimates

come from the conversion uncertainty of variations in raindrop size distribution (DSD) from

changes in multiple factors, which is gapped by adding the Ka-band frequency channel to the

DPR. The Ka-band will also provide more accurate estimations of phase transition height in

precipitating systems, and by increasing the sensitivity of this channel with the GPM core
[4]
satellite’s coverage, a larger fraction of snow events will be detected (Iguchi, T. et al) . The

DPR algorithms consist of six different modules and are executed twice in single-frequency

algorithms and once in dual-frequency algorithms. The modules are: preparation module, vertical

profile module, classification module, surface reference technique (SRT) module, DSD module,

and solver module (Seto, S. et al.) .

[5]
2.3 West North Pacific Tropical Cyclone

2.4 Rain Microphysics

2.5 Tropical Cyclone Intensification