NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have released the first images captured by their newest Earth-observing satellite, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, which launched into space Feb. 27.

The images show precipitation falling inside a March 10 cyclone over the northwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan. The data were collected by the GPM Core Observatory’s two instruments: JAXA’s Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), which imaged a three-dimensional cross-section of the storm; and, NASA’s GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), which observed precipitation across a broad swath.

The GMI instrument has 13 channels that measure natural energy radiated by Earth’s surface and also by precipitation itself. Liquid raindrops and ice particles affect the microwave energy differently, so each channel is sensitive to a different precipitation type. With the addition of four new channels, the GPM Core Observatory is the first spacecraft designed to detect light rain and snowfall from space.

In addition to seeing all types of rain, GMI’s technological advancements allow the instrument to identify rain structures as small as about 3 to 9 miles (5 to 15 kilometers) across. This higher resolution is a significant improvement over the capability of an earlier instrument flown on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission in 1997.

Click image below for more info.

The USGS beta website just went online: http://beta.usgs.gov/ .  Public comments can be submitted by clicking on the “SEND FEEDBACK” button floating in the lower right corner.

The main USGS website is still available at: http://www.usgs.gov/ .

GeoJSON has emerged as a popular format for sharing location-based information on the web, and the JavaScript Maps API is embracing this open standard. This means, as a developer, you can now pull raw data from multiple data sources, such as the US Geological Survey or Google Maps Engine and easily display it on your website with this bit of code:

map.data.loadGeoJSON(‘earthquakes.json’);

Visit Google’s blog to read more about it.

From Scott Gregory, California State GIO:

As you may or may not know, AB1327 is a bill that could potentially impact the work that we do in regards to remote sensing and aerial imagery collection, etc… in the near future. See the link below for more detail. My office is in the process of providing the Legislature a summary analysis of the bill. In our analysis we want to highlight civilian use (non-public safety governmental) cases for UAV technology as a rebuttal to some of the limiting language in the bill.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1327

If this bill will affect your organization’s future data collection needs, please provide me a brief summary to be incorporated into the analysis. Something like the follow would be appropriate:

Dept. of Water Resources
Levee Inspection
The use of civilian accessed UAV technology would greatly enhance our ability to assess the current conditions of the State’s levee system. This would enhance collection efforts saving time and money in the process because it is accomplished remotely without having to send staff and resources to the field for collection. This process would increase accuracy of surveys….

Basically, I would be looking for the organization name, use case and description of that use case. Please circulate to the user community within your respective organizations to solicit feedback. Please email or call if you have any questions. I would like to have these complied by 10am Friday (3/14/14). Thanks for your help.

Scott Gregory
Deputy Director
State Geographic Information Officer
California Department of Technology
Scott.Gregory@state.ca.gov
916.431.5449
10860 Gold Center Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA. 95670