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Yokoyama Lab (Climate Variability Research Division)
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A lab that observes rain from satellites to explore the mechanisms of clouds and precipitation and how they will change in the future.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing how rain falls through the eyes of satellites.
Yokoyama Lab studies the mechanisms of clouds and precipitation by analyzing satellite observation data.
The radar on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite captures even how rain is distributed in the vertical direction.
Using that data, the lab has shown that heavy rain events that look alike can actually fall in several distinct patterns.
The lab also links these findings to climate model projections to investigate how rainfall patterns will change as global warming progresses.
Key terms
- Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite
- A satellite that emits radio waves from space to observe, in three dimensions, how rain and snow fall on Earth
- Jet stream
- A strong current of wind blowing from west to east in the upper atmosphere. On either side of it, to the north and south, the atmosphere divides into tropical and temperate states
- Climate model
- A numerical model that expresses the workings of the atmosphere and oceans in mathematical equations and reproduces the climate on a computer
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies cloud and precipitation systems and tropical meteorology by analyzing satellite observation data. It relates the rain captured by satellites to the state of the atmosphere, and connects this to future projections from climate models.
*Illustrative imageThe Three-Dimensional Structure of Rain Seen from Satellites
Using observation data from satellites such as GPM and TRMM, the lab analyzes the three-dimensional structure of rain. A satellite emits radio waves, and from the returning echoes and their time delay, the lab can determine how rain is distributed in the vertical direction.
*Illustrative imageClassifying Baiu-Season Rain into Types
From 13 years of satellite data, the lab classified how rain falls during the Baiu (early summer rainy) season into three types: small-area, organized, and midlatitude. Warm, moist air in the lower layers and the upper-level jet stream were found to influence how the rain falls.
*Illustrative imageFuture Changes in How Rain Falls
Using projection data from 25 climate models together with historical experiment data, the lab estimated how the three types of rain will change around Japan in the future. The approach relates rain captured by satellites to the state of the atmosphere and connects it to climate model projections.
MembersFaculty
- LecturerChie YokoyamaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Terra MODIS Stationary front cloud over Japan” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- The Three-Dimensional Structure of Rain Seen from Satellites: “Artist concept of the GPM Core Observatory satellite” NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Classifying Baiu-Season Rain into Types: “Dunkelheit” Friedrich Haag / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Future Changes in How Rain Falls: “Heavy downpour - geograph.org.uk - 6336545” DS Pugh / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
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- Related lab (Ocean General Circulation Lab): “Global Sea Surface Currents and Temperature (hd video) ( )” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA / Public domain (cropped)
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