As an outcome of the 19th CEOS Plenary Meeting held in November 2005, the CEOS Implementation Plan for Space-Based Observations for GEOSS is to identify the space-based observations as required by the 10-year implementation plan for GEOSS and propose a process for coordinating different types of Earth observing programs funded by CEOS Member agencies to provide the required observations. The CEOS Constellations is the title given to this new process. Four pilot constellation studies, including precipitation, have been initiated in order to pioneer and test the concept.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) have been identified as the lead agencies in the study of the development of a CEOS Precipitation Constellation and charged with drafting a scoping paper to provide a common vision of the scope and objectives of the Precipitation Constellation. The goal of the CEOS Precipitation Constellation is to establish an international framework to guide, facilitate, and coordinate the continued advancements of multi-satellite global precipitation products.
The development of the CEOS Precipitation Constellation is unique in having
(1) an existing constellation of precipitation sensors providing multiple merged multi-satellite global precipitation products for research and applications, and
(2) a planned international constellation satellite mission, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, which is in an advanced stage of planning and whose objectives coincide with what the CEOS Precipitation Constellation aims to accomplish. The CEOS Precipitation Constellation development is in an excellent position to leverage and build upon the extensive community inputs already collected in preparation of the GPM mission to be launched by NASA and JAXA in 2013.
In the pre-GPM phase, the CEOS Precipitation Constellation activities can focus on
(i) comparisons of different methods of inter-calibration for generating uniform precipitation estimates from diverse types of precipitation sensors and
(ii) evaluations of different multi-sensor precipitation products. During its planned mission life in the 2013-2018 timeframe, the GPM mission is envisioned to be a realization of the CEOS Precipitation Constellation, and the lessons learned from GPM will serve to guide the planning of future CEOS Precipitation Constellation activities.
More information about the CEOS Precipitation Constellation can be found at:
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Please feel free to contact Erich Stocker at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if interested in participating or with any questions.
