NASA and various agencies have monitored rainfall at KSC since 1983 to evaluate long-term trends in precipitation, deposition, weather forecasting, and tropical storms. These sites have been operated and maintained by:

• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since 1988 (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission).
• Dynamac Corporation since 1983 (as part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program and an area just south of Launch Pad 39A)
• NASA Weather Office since 1982 (a site at the Shuttle Landing Facility).

KSC is located on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) on north Merritt Island, Florida, and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) is located to the east of MINWR. The 10-year mean spatial rainfall pattern at KSC and CCAFS (total area including lagoonal waters of this barrier island complex) from 1989 to 1995 and from 1998 to 2000 is 631.3 square kilometers. Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island are recently-formed dune systems, and the Banana and Indian Rivers are submerged terraces inundated by brackish water. The physical influences that shaped the present topography of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island include the longshore current, the onshore/offshore breezes, and natural land-building processes.

The spatial rainfall patterns on KSC are important for a variety of reasons. The lagoonal volumes are controlled by direct precipitation on their surfaces plus runoff and surface input from point and nonpoint source discharges, plus or minus groundwater seepage, minus evapotranspiration, plus or minus flow through Haulover Canal, plus or minus tidal exchanges with the Atlantic Ocean. The rainfall patterns will have to be considered in the further growth on KSC for roads and facility siting criteria and runoff patterns of the major watersheds. This could impact the outfall of stormwater runoff to the Banana River, Indian River, and Mosquito Lagoon, which border the east, west, and north of KSC.

This freshwater could impact the salinity and nutrient levels of the rivers, which could influence the sea grass distributions. This could impact the fish nurseries and the feeding grounds of the endangered manatees. The rainfall patterns on the land could also affect the primary production of biomass and food for other endangered species (Florida scrub-jay and indigo snake). Another effect could be on the fine-fuel moistures on the various prescribed burn units for any given year, which might hinder the necessary burn cycles for proper habitat maintenance.

Key accomplishments:

• 2001: Draft paper written, spatial analysis completed using ArcView Spatial Analyst. Paper being edited for submission to Journal of Climate after internal review.

Key milestones:

• 2000: Performed data analysis, estimated missing data, and produced spatial maps using ArcView Spatial Analyst.
• 2001: Reviewed literature, wrote and started editing draft paper, and selected journal for submission.
• 2002: Finish editing, submit for internal review, and submit for publication in Journal of Climate. Begin work on second paper on non-normal rain years (extremely wet or dry).

Contact: Dr. W.M. Knott (William.Knott-1@ksc.nasa.gov), YA-D3, (321) 321-6987
Participating Organization: Dynamac Corporation (J.H. Drese and J.M. Rebmann)