TRMM 3D Movie Help
TRMM 3D Movie is a three-dimensional reproduction of rain and cloud of Typhoon observed by the TRMM satellite.
The rain of typhoon is drawn by using three-dimensional rainfall rate data observed by the Precipitation Radar (PR).
The cloud of typhoon is drawn by using the cloud top brightness temperature data observed by the Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS).
The TRMM 3D Movie is composed of the following three stages.
Stage1: Horizontal cross section of rain + horizontal distribution of cloud ; a camera is fixed (North is up).
Stage 2: 3D structure of rain + 3D structure of cloud ; a camera spirally moves downward.
Stage 3: Vertical cross section of rain + vertical cross section of cloud ; a camera is fixed (North is forward direction).
Stage1  
Stage2  
Stage3  
Stage1
  • The movie shows a typhoon vertically looked down from space.
  • The horizontal cross section of rain moves upward like "2.0 km -> 3.5 km -> 5.0 km -> 6.5 km"
  • Red and blue color corresponds to heavy and weak rain, respectively.
Stage2
  • The movie shows a typhoon looked down while spirally moving downward counter clockwise.
  • It shows 3D rain structure (white conglomerate) and 3D cloud.
Stage3
  • The movie shows a typhoon obliquely looked down from the upper side.
  • Vertical cross section of the rain moves from South (backward) to North (forward).
  • Red and blue color corresponds to heavy and weak rain, respectively.
Spatial scale
  • Vertical scale of rain and cloud are expanded by 20 times to show its structure clearly.
  • Since vertical scale of cloud is ambiguously estimated from the brightness temperature obtained by the VIRS infrared channel, vertical distribution of rain and cloud cannot be directly compared.
  • Horizontal distribution of rain and cloud correctly reflect the real position.
Color scale

TRMM 3D movies require a Flash Player plug-in.
Please use the link below to download the required components from Macromedia Inc.