RAPID: IFloodS Field Campaign in Iowa

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

NASA will conduct a field campaign (spring of 2013) called Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) in support of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission scheduled for launch in 2014. This campaign, part of the GPM Ground Validation activities, will focus on hydrologic applications of the mission products, specifically for the prediction of floods. IIHR/Hydroscience & Engineering (IIHR) and the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) of the University of Iowa will host the experiment and assist NASA personnel in selecting sites and deploying instruments, as well as organizing and facilitating access to data resources, and performing preliminary processing and analysis of IFloodS data. IIHR and IFC will organize and set up a Command Center Facility for the campaign, coordinate the logistical support of instrumentation maintenance during the campaign, provide communication support for other state and federal agencies using the data in real-time, and manage media and public outreach. Data collected by this campaign will enhance our understanding of rainfall variability across scales, provide uncertainty estimates for operational network of weather radars, and help to refine models and improve predictions driven by space-based precipitation data input for applications around the world. IFloodS presents a unique research and education opportunity for many members of the hydrologic community because there will be very high quality rainfall data collected over large river basins. This specific project will support up to ten individuals to participate in this opportunity.