How to Participate

How to Participate

The GPM Student Field Campaign is not currently active. However, we still encourage you to continue collecting precipitation data and reporting it to GLOBE. In addition, precipitation is one of the protocols included with the currently running El Niño Field Campaign, which you might also find to be of interest.

To get started, use the following links to download helpful documents:

  1. GPM Precipitation Student Field Campaign Teacher Participation Guide

  2. Overview presentation about the field campaign and GPM Mission

  3. Instrument Construction, Site Selection and Set-Up Guide

  4. Precipitation Protocols

  5. GPM Precipitation Field Campaign Data Sheet  (or the Atmosphere Investigation Integrated 1-Day Data Sheet can be used if other types of atmosphere observations will be made at the same time

Purpose:

The GPM Mission looks at one important aspect of the water cycle – precipitation. However, the way satellites "see" rain is not the same as the way rain gauges collect precipitation on the ground, and to make sure the algorithms used by the satellites to provide rain totals are working well, we need to do what is called ground validation. This campaign is an opportunity for students to participate in ground validation for the GPM satellite, looking at the question, "How do ground-based observations compare to satellite rainfall estimates?" Students will also be able to compare their data with that of participating schools around the globe, networks of "official" rain gauges, as well as to long-term climatological data, and look for patterns and anomalies.

Timing:

The GPM Student Field Campaign is not currently active. However, we still encourage you to continue collecting precipitation data and reporting it to GLOBE. In addition, precipitation is one of the protocols included with the currently running El Niño Field Campaign, which you might also find to be of interest.

Events during the campaign:

Archives of the webinars on topics ranging from ground validation to applications of satellite precipitation data  can be found on the webinars page.

What to do and how to do it:

1. Join the GPM community using the Members tab above to get the latest updates on the campaign and join in on discussions.
 
2. Collect precipitation data
  • Identify and establish an observation study site, if your school does not have one previously established. Refer to the Instrument Construction, Site Selection and Set-Up for information regarding selecting and setting up an observation site.
  • Note: Only a rain gauge is needed for this campaign, not an instrument box, snow board, etc. For teachers in the United States, if you do not have a rain gauge available, contact the GPM Education and Communication team and we may be able to help you procure one.
  • Follow the Precipitation Protocols directions for collecting precipitation data.
  • oIf you have an automated weather station, that can also be used for reporting. See specific protocols for different types of approved stations at the bottom of the Atmosphere Protocols page.

 

3. Report data to the GLOBE data base

  • Select the "Enter Live Data" button below to enter your precipitation data. You will be asked to log in to the GLOBE website if you are not currently logged in.
  • Find your study site in the list of previously-defined sites, or define a new site using the "Add Site" link to the right of your study site name on the data entry page.
  • A data entry video tutorial is available here.

 

4. View precipitation data

  • Precipitation data can be viewed in the GLOBE visualization system. Once you enter the visualization system, go to "Data Layers" in the upper left part of the map, hit the "Add +" option and choose "Precipitation" and "Total Liquid Equivalence" from the protocol drop down menu and Add Layer Then click on a school with data from the map, and you can select various graph and table views and date ranges.
  • A tutorial on the basics of the visualization tools is available here.
  • Use the My NASA Data Live Access Server to view precipitation data from GPM's predecessor satellite, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Instructions for how to get climatology averages can be found here.
  • More file formats for TRMM and GPM data can be found on the mission's data access website, http://pmm.nasa.gov/data-access.

 

5. Apply and extend your knowledge