scholarly journals Evaluation of Multiple Satellite-Based Precipitation Products over Complex Topography

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1498-1516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yagmur Derin ◽  
Koray K. Yilmaz
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Cold Season ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Complex Topography ◽  
Precipitation Regime ◽  
Black Sea Region ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Precipitation Estimation

Abstract This study evaluates the performance of four satellite-based precipitation (SBP) products over the western Black Sea region of Turkey, a region characterized by complex topography that exerts strong controls on the precipitation regime. The four SBP products include the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis version 7 experimental near-real-time product (TMPA-7RT) and post-real-time research-quality product (TMPA-7A), the Climate Prediction Center morphing technique (CMORPH), and the Multisensor Precipitation Estimate (MPE) of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). Evaluation is performed at various spatial (point and grid) and temporal (daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual) scales over the period 2007–11. For the grid-scale evaluation, a rain gauge–based gridded precipitation dataset was constructed using a knowledge-based system in which “physiographic descriptors” are incorporated in the precipitation estimation through an optimization framework. The results indicated that evaluated SBP products generally had difficulty in representing the precipitation gradient normal to the orography. TMPA-7RT, TMPA-7A, and MPE products underestimated precipitation along the windward region and overestimated the precipitation on the leeward region, more significantly during the cold season. The CMORPH product underestimated the precipitation on both windward and leeward regions regardless of the season. Further investigation of the datasets used in the development of these SBP products revealed that, although both infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) datasets contain potential problems, the inability of MW sensors to detect precipitation especially in the cold season was the main challenge over this region with complex topography.

scholarly journals Evaluation of IMERG Level-3 Products in Depicting the July to October Rainfall over Taiwan: Typhoon Versus Non-Typhoon

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 622
Author(s):  
Wan-Ru Huang ◽  
Pin-Yi Liu ◽  
Ya-Hui Chang ◽  
Cheng-An Lee
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Typhoon Season ◽  
Early Late ◽  
Better Than

This study assesses the performance of satellite precipitation products (SPPs) from the latest version, V06B, Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Mission (IMERG) Level-3 (including early, late, and final runs), in depicting the characteristics of typhoon season (July to October) rainfall over Taiwan within the period of 2000–2018. The early and late runs are near-real-time SPPs, while final run is post-real-time SPP adjusted by monthly rain gauge data. The latency of early, late, and final runs is approximately 4 h, 14 h, and 3.5 months, respectively, after the observation. Analyses focus on the seasonal mean, daily variation, and interannual variation of typhoon-related (TC) and non-typhoon-related (non-TC) rainfall. Using local rain-gauge observations as a reference for evaluation, our results show that all IMERG products capture the spatio-temporal variations of TC rainfall better than those of non-TC rainfall. Among SPPs, the final run performs better than the late run, which is slightly better than the early run for most of the features assessed for both TC and non-TC rainfall. Despite these differences, all IMERG products outperform the frequently used Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42 v7 (TRMM7) for the illustration of the spatio-temporal characteristics of TC rainfall in Taiwan. In contrast, for the non-TC rainfall, the final run performs notably better relative to TRMM7, while the early and late runs showed only slight improvement. These findings highlight the advantages and disadvantages of using IMERG products for studying or monitoring typhoon season rainfall in Taiwan.

scholarly journals Error Analysis of Satellite Precipitation Products in Mountainous Basins

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1778-1793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiwen Mei ◽  
Emmanouil N. Anagnostou ◽  
Efthymios I. Nikolopoulos ◽  
Marco Borga
Keyword(s):  
Error Analysis ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Quantitative Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Precipitation Regimes ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
High Precipitation

Abstract Accurate quantitative precipitation estimation over mountainous basins is of great importance because of their susceptibility to hazards such as flash floods, shallow landslides, and debris flows, triggered by heavy precipitation events (HPEs). In situ observations over mountainous areas are limited, but currently available satellite precipitation products can potentially provide the precipitation estimation needed for hydrological applications. In this study, four widely used satellite-based precipitation products [Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42, version 7 (3B42-V7), and in near–real time (3B42-RT); Climate Prediction Center (CPC) morphing technique (CMORPH); and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Imagery Using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN)] are evaluated with respect to their performance in capturing the properties of HPEs over different basin scales. Evaluation is carried out over the upper Adige River basin (eastern Italian Alps) for an 8-yr period (2003–10). Basin-averaged rainfall derived from a dense rain gauge network in the region is used as a reference. Satellite precipitation error analysis is performed for warm (May–August) and cold (September–December) season months as well as for different quantile ranges of basin-averaged precipitation accumulations. Three error metrics and a score system are introduced to quantify the performances of the various satellite products. Overall, no single precipitation product can be considered ideal for detecting and quantifying HPE. Results show better consistency between gauges and the two 3B42 products, particularly during warm season months that are associated with high-intensity convective events. All satellite products are shown to have a magnitude-dependent error ranging from overestimation at low precipitation regimes to underestimation at high precipitation accumulations; this effect is more pronounced in the CMORPH and PERSIANN products.

scholarly journals Validation of Satellite-Based High-Resolution Rainfall Products over the Korean Peninsula Using Data from a Dense Rain Gauge Network

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Sohn ◽  
Hyo-Jin Han ◽  
Eun-Kyoung Seo
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Diurnal Cycles ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Surface Measurements ◽  
Rain Events ◽  
Using Data ◽  
June July

Abstract Four independently developed high-resolution precipitation products [HRPPs; the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), the Climate Prediction Center Morphing Method (CMORPH), Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN), and the National Research Laboratory (NRL) blended precipitation dataset (NRL-blended)], with a spatial resolution of 0.25° and a temporal resolution of 3 h, were compared with surface rain measurements for the four summer seasons (June, July, and August) from 2003 to 2006. Surface measurements are 1-min rain gauge data from the Automated Weather Station (AWS) network operated by the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) over South Korea, which consists of about 520 sites. The summer mean rainfall and diurnal cycles of TMPA are comparable to those of the AWS, but with larger magnitudes. The closer agreement of TMPA with surface observations is due to the adjustment of the real-time version of TMPA products to monthly gauge measurements. However, the adjustment seems to result in significant overestimates for light or moderate rain events and thus increased RMS error. In the other three products (CMORPH, PERSIANN, and NRL-blended), significant underestimates are evident in the summer mean distribution and in scatterplots for the grid-by-grid comparison. The magnitudes of the diurnal cycles of the three products appear to be much smaller than those suggested by AWS, although CMORPH shows nearly the same diurnal phase as in AWS. Such underestimates by three methods are likely due to the deficiency of the passive microwave (PMW)-based rainfall retrievals over the South Korean region. More accurate PMW measurements (in particular by the improved land algorithm) seem to be a prerequisite for better estimates of the rain rate by HRPP algorithms. This paper further demonstrates the capability of the Korean AWS network data for validating satellite-based rain products.

Incorporating NASA Spaceborne Radar Data into NOAA National Mosaic QPE System for Improved Precipitation Measurement: A Physically Based VPR Identification and Enhancement Method

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1293-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yixin Wen ◽  
Qing Cao ◽  
Pierre-Emmanuel Kirstetter ◽  
Yang Hong ◽  
Jonathan J. Gourley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Cold Season ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Surface Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Measurement ◽  
Trmm Pr ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Enhancement Method

Abstract This study proposes an approach that identifies and corrects for the vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) by using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) measurements in the region of Arizona and southern California, where the ground-based Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) finds difficulties in making reliable estimations of surface precipitation amounts because of complex terrain and limited radar coverage. A VPR identification and enhancement (VPR-IE) method based on the modeling of the vertical variations of the equivalent reflectivity factor using a physically based parameterization is employed to obtain a representative VPR at S band from the TRMM PR measurement at Ku band. Then the representative VPR is convolved with ground radar beam sampling properties to compute apparent VPRs for enhancing NEXRAD quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). The VPR-IE methodology is evaluated with several stratiform precipitation events during the cold season and is compared to two other statistically based correction methods, that is, the TRMM PR–based rainfall calibration and a range ring–based adjustment scheme. The results show that the VPR-IE has the best overall performance and provides much more accurate surface rainfall estimates than the original ground-based radar QPE. The potential of the VPR-IE method could be further exploited and better utilized when the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission's dual-frequency PR is launched in 2014, with anticipated accuracy improvements and expanded latitude coverage.

scholarly journals Assimilation of SMOS soil moisture into a distributed hydrological model and impacts on the water cycle variables over the Ouémé catchment in Benin

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 2827-2840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine J. Leroux ◽  
Thierry Pellarin ◽  
Théo Vischel ◽  
Jean-Martial Cohard ◽  
Tania Gascon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Water Table Depth ◽  
Distributed Hydrological Model ◽  
Model Soil ◽  
Precipitation Estimation

Abstract. Precipitation forcing is usually the main source of uncertainty in hydrology. It is of crucial importance to use accurate forcing in order to obtain a good distribution of the water throughout the basin. For real-time applications, satellite observations allow quasi-real-time precipitation monitoring like the products PERSIANN (Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks, TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) or CMORPH (CPC (Climate Prediction Center) MORPHing). However, especially in West Africa, these precipitation satellite products are highly inaccurate and the water amount can vary by a factor of 2. A post-adjusted version of these products exists but is available with a 2 to 3 month delay, which is not suitable for real-time hydrologic applications. The purpose of this work is to show the possible synergy between quasi-real-time satellite precipitation and soil moisture by assimilating the latter into a hydrological model. Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture is assimilated into the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) model. By adjusting the soil water content, water table depth and streamflow simulations are much improved compared to real-time precipitation without assimilation: soil moisture bias is decreased even at deeper soil layers, correlation of the water table depth is improved from 0.09–0.70 to 0.82–0.87, and the Nash coefficients of the streamflow go from negative to positive. Overall, the statistics tend to get closer to those from the reanalyzed precipitation. Soil moisture assimilation represents a fair alternative to reanalyzed rainfall products, which can take several months before being available, which could lead to a better management of available water resources and extreme events.

Evaluation of High-Resolution Satellite Precipitation Products over Very Complex Terrain in Ethiopia

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1044-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feyera A. Hirpa ◽  
Mekonnen Gebremichael ◽  
Thomas Hopson
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Precipitation Analysis ◽  
Climate Prediction Center ◽  
Microwave Data

Abstract This study focuses on the evaluation of 3-hourly, 0.25° × 0.25°, satellite-based precipitation products: the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42RT, the NOAA/Climate Prediction Center morphing technique (CMORPH), and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN). CMORPH is primarily microwave based, 3B42RT is primarily microwave based when microwave data are available and infrared based when microwave data are not available, and PERSIANN is primarily infrared based. The results show that 1) 3B42RT and CMORPH give similar rainfall fields (in terms of bias, spatial structure, elevation-dependent trend, and distribution function), which are different from PERSIANN rainfall fields; 2) PERSIANN does not show the elevation-dependent trend observed in rain gauge values, 3B42RT, and CMORPH; and 3) PERSIANN considerably underestimates rainfall in high-elevation areas.

scholarly journals A Review of Merged High-Resolution Satellite Precipitation Product Accuracy during the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Era

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1101-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviana Maggioni ◽  
Patrick C. Meyers ◽  
Monique D. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Motion Vector ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Probability Of Detection ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Tropical Rainfall ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Rain Events ◽  
Climate Studies ◽  
Liquid Precipitation

Abstract A great deal of expertise in satellite precipitation estimation has been developed during the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) era (1998–2015). The quantification of errors associated with satellite precipitation products (SPPs) is crucial for a correct use of these datasets in hydrological applications, climate studies, and water resources management. This study presents a review of previous work that focused on validating SPPs for liquid precipitation during the TRMM era through comparisons with surface observations, both in terms of mean errors and detection capabilities across different regions of the world. Several SPPs have been considered: TMPA 3B42 (research and real-time products), CPC morphing technique (CMORPH), Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP; both the near-real-time and the Motion Vector Kalman filter products), PERSIANN, and PERSIANN–Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS). Topography, seasonality, and climatology were shown to play a role in the SPP’s performance, especially in terms of detection probability and bias. Regions with complex terrain exhibited poor rain detection and magnitude-dependent mean errors; low probability of detection was reported in semiarid areas. Winter seasons, usually associated with lighter rain events, snow, and mixed-phase precipitation, showed larger biases.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Quantitative Precipitation Estimations through Hydrological Modeling in IFloodS River Basins

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 529-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan Wu ◽  
Robert F. Adler ◽  
Yudong Tian ◽  
Guojun Gu ◽  
George J. Huffman
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Precipitation Bias

Abstract A multiple-product-driven hydrologic modeling framework (MMF) is utilized for evaluation of quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) products, motivated by improving the utility of satellite QPE in global flood modeling. This work addresses the challenge of objectively determining the relative value of various QPEs at river basin/subbasin scales. A reference precipitation dataset is created using a long-term water-balance approach with independent data sources. The intercomparison of nine QPEs and corresponding hydrologic simulations indicates that all products with long-term (2002–13) records have similar merits as over the short-term (April–June 2013) Iowa Flood Studies period. The model performance in calculated streamflow varies approximately linearly with precipitation bias, demonstrating that the model successfully translated the level of precipitation quality to streamflow quality with better streamflow simulations from QPEs with less bias. Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2) has the best streamflow results for the Iowa–Cedar River basin, with daily and monthly Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients and mean annual bias of 0.81, 0.88, and −2.1%, respectively, for the long-term period. The evaluation also indicates that a further adjustment of NLDAS-2 to form the best precipitation estimation should consider spatial–temporal distribution of bias. The satellite-only products have lower performance (peak and timing) than other products, while simple bias adjustment can intermediately improve the quality of simulated streamflow. The TMPA research product (TMPA-RP; research-quality data) can generate results approaching those of the ground-based products with only monthly gauge-based adjustment to the TMPA real-time product (TMPA-RT; near-real-time data). It is further noted that the streamflow bias is strongly correlated to precipitation bias at various time scales, though other factors may play a role as well, especially on the daily time scale.

scholarly journals Uncertainty Assessments of Satellite Derived Rainfall Products

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Kimani ◽  
Joost Hoedjes ◽  
Zhongbo Su
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Global Precipitation Climatology Project ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Error Distributions ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Scatter Plots ◽  
Global Precipitation

Accurate and consistent rainfall observations are vital for climatological studies in support of better planning and decision making. However, estimation of accurate spatial rainfall is limited by sparse rain gauge distributions. Satellite rainfall products can thus potentially play a role in spatial rainfall estimation but their skill and uncertainties need to be under-stood across spatial-time scales. This study aimed at assessing the temporal and spatial performance of seven satellite products (TARCAT (Tropical Applications of Meteorology using SATellite and ground-based observations (TAMSAT) African Rainfall Climatology And Time series), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM-3B43), Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Morphing (CMORPH), the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks- Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) using gridded (0.05o) rainfall data over East Africa for 15 years(1998-2012). The products’ error distributions were qualitatively compared with large scale horizontal winds (850 mb) and elevation patterns with respect to corresponding rain gauge data for each month during the ‘long’ (March-May) and ‘short’ (October-December) rainfall seasons. For validation only rainfall means extracted from 284 rain gauge stations were used, from which qualitative analysis using continuous statistics of Root Mean Squared Difference, Standard deviations, Correlations, coefficient of determinations (from scatter plots) were used to evaluate the products’ performance. Results revealed rainfall variability dependence on wind flows and modulated by topographic influences. The products’ errors showed seasonality and dependent on rainfall intensity and topography. Single sensor and coarse resolution products showed lowest performance on high ground areas. All the products showed low skills in retrieving rainfall during ‘short’ rainfall season when orographic processes were dominant. CHIRPS, CMORPH and TRMM performed well, with TRMM showing the best performance in both seasons. There is need to reduce products’ errors before applications.

scholarly journals Evaluation of satellite rainfall estimates over Ethiopian river basins

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1505-1514 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. G. Romilly ◽  
M. Gebremichael
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Satellite Rainfall ◽  
Almost All ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Rainfall Estimates

Abstract. High resolution satellite-based rainfall estimates (SREs) have enormous potential for use in hydrological applications, particularly in the developing world as an alternative to conventional rain gauges which are typically sparse. In this study, three SREs have been evaluated against collocated rain gauge measurements in Ethiopia across six river basins that represent different rainfall regimes and topography. The comparison is made using five-year (2003–2007) averages, and results are stratified by river basin, elevation and season. The SREs considered are: the Climate Prediction Center morphing method (CMORPH), Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Neural Networks (PERSIANN) and the real-time version of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42RT. Overall, the microwave-based products TMPA 3B42RT and CMORPH outperform the infrared-based product PERSIANN: PERSIANN tends to underestimate rainfall by 43 %, while CMORPH tends to underestimate by 11 % and TMPA 3B42RT tends to overestimate by 5 %. The bias in the satellite rainfall estimates depends on the rainfall regime, and, in some regimes, the elevation. In the northwest region, which is characterized mainly by highland topography, a humid climate and a strong Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) effect, elevation has a strong influence on the accuracy of the SREs: TMPA 3B42RT and CMORPH tend to overestimate at low elevations but give reasonably accurate results at high elevations, whereas PERSIANN gives reasonably accurate values at low elevations but underestimates at high elevations. In the southeast region, which is characterized mainly by lowland topography, a semi-arid climate and southerly winds, elevation does not have a significant influence on the accuracy of the SREs, and all the SREs underestimate rainfall across almost all elevations.

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