NASA Holds Media Teleconference to Preview Major Hurricane Study

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will hold a media teleconference on Thursday, Aug. 5, at 3 p.m. EDT to discuss its upcoming airborne research campaign into hurricane behavior.

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The Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes mission, or GRIP, will study how hurricanes are created and why they can intensify rapidly. The mission involves three NASA research aircraft based in Florida, Texas, and California, and observations from several NASA satellites. GRIP will run from Aug. 15 to Sept. 25.

The teleconference panelists are:

• Ramesh Kakar, weather focus area lead, NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Scott Braun, hurricane modeler/research meteorologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
• Gerald Heymsfield, cloud radar expert/research meteorologist, Goddard
• Ed Zipser, professor of meteorology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact Rob Gutro at 301-286-4044 or [email protected] for dial-in instructions. Requests must include reporters' media affiliation and telephone number. Supporting information for the briefing will be posted at noon EDT on Aug. 5 at: http://www.nasa.gov/grip

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

B-roll of the upcoming GRIP mission will air on NASA Television's Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

SOURCE NASA