Nasa Precipitation Data in Virtual Globes: Moving beyond 2d Representations

A prototype has been developed that enables Google Earth to access the ~13 terabyte precipitation archive of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). While other organizations distribute TRMM satellite data for display in Google Earth, this prototype is the first application that allows Google Earth to examine single-orbit files at full resolution in 3D. This archive access tool is intended for researchers, but the paper also presents a separate Google Earth prototype intended for public outreach. The public outreach prototype provides detailed 3D visualization of a single precipitation event. The paper provides instructions for using the prototypes and explains the implementation issues. These prototypes demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of using Google Earth for archive access and scientific visualization. The Precipitation Processing System developed these prototypes as part of its support of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission.