Assessment of evolving TRMM‐based multisatellite real‐time precipitation estimation methods and their impacts on hydrologic prediction in a high latitude basin

Abstract

[1] The real-time availability of satellite-derived precipitation estimates provides hydrologists an opportunity to improve current hydrologic prediction capability for medium to large river basins. Due to the availability of new satellite data and upgrades to the precipitation algorithms, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis real-time estimates (TMPA-RT) have been undergoing several important revisions over the past ten years. In this study, the changes of the relative accuracy and hydrologic potential of TMPA-RT estimates over its three major evolving periods were evaluated and inter-compared at daily, monthly and seasonal scales in the high-latitude Laohahe basin in China. Assessment results show that the performance of TMPA-RT in terms of precipitation estimation and streamflow simulation was significantly improved after 3 February 2005. Overestimation during winter months was noteworthy and consistent, which is suggested to be a consequence from interference of snow cover to the passive microwave retrievals. Rainfall estimated by the new version 6 of TMPA-RT starting from 1 October 2008 to present has higher correlations with independent gauge observations and tends to perform better in detecting rain compared to the prior periods, although it suffers larger mean error and relative bias. After a simple bias correction, this latest data set of TMPA-RT exhibited the best capability in capturing hydrologic response among the three tested periods. In summary, this study demonstrated that there is an increasing potential in the use of TMPA-RT in hydrologic streamflow simulations over its three algorithm upgrade periods, but still with significant challenges during the winter snowing events.

Evaluation of global fine-resolution precipitation products and their uncertainty quantification in ensemble discharge simulations

“…The lower the RMSE and RB, the better the estimation. These comparison criteria have been used by many studies (Ebert et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2011;Yong et al, 2012), so they are used in this study. Probability distributions by occurrence and volume are also analysed, which can provide us with the information on the frequency and on the product error dependence on precipitation intensity (Chen et al, 2013a, b).…”

“…WEB-DHM has been used in several evaluations and applications (Wang et al, 2010a(Wang et al, , b, 2012Shrestha et al, 2014). WEB-DHM input data include precipitation, temperature, downward solar radiation, long-wave radiation, air pressure, wind speed, and humidity.…”

“…Knowledge of precipitation plays an important role in the understanding of the water cycle, and thus in the management of water resources (Sellers, 1997;Sorooshian et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2005;Ebert et al, 2007;Buarque et al, 2011;Tapiador et al, 2012;Yong et al, 2012;Gao and Liu, 2013;Peng et al, 2014a, b). However, precipitation data are not available in many regions, particularly mountainous districts and rural areas in developing countries.…”

Evaluating the streamflow simulation capability of PERSIANN-CDR daily rainfall products in two river basins on the Tibetan Plateau

“…Many studies have been carried out to evaluate the suitability of a number of satellite-based precipitation estimate products in forcing hydrologic models and simulating streamflow for various regions around the world (e.g., Yilmaz et al, 2005;Artan et al, 2007;Su et al, 2011;Bitew et al, 2012;Yong et al, 2012, Yang et al, 2015. However, there are few evaluation studies focusing on hydrological modeling driven by satellite rainfall products on the Tibetan Plateau.…”

Flood hazard assessment and mapping in semi-arid piedmont areas: a case study in Beni Mellal, Morocco

“…Several studies have demonstrated the utility of TRMM datasets in estimating rainfall for hydrological modelling of medium-sized and large catchments (e.g. Hong et al 2007;Su et al 2008;Nikolopoulos et al 2013;Yong et al 2012). Less testing has been undertaken in smaller catchments (less than 100 km 2 ).…”