Evaluation of TRMM 3B42 product using a new gauge-based analysis of daily precipitation over China

Abstract

In this study, a new gauge-based analysis of 0.25 • daily precipitation data from 756 Chinese stations was constructed using a state-of-the-art gauge data analysis system to evaluate the Tropical Precipitation Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42 Version 6 product over China during the period of 1998-2010. Tests by withdrawing a fraction of the gauge records from the analysis shows that the gauge data analysis system used in this study has a good performance in constructing daily high-resolution gridded analysis data over China. Analyses reveal that the 3B42-V6 product is capable of describing the observed spatial patterns and seasonal variations for most areas of China during the wet season, as well as the evolution of the summer precipitation belt in the Yangtze River valley. The differences between the satellite product and the gauge analysis of daily precipitation are within ∼10% over most of east China, but the satellite product underestimates the observed precipitation by 20% ∼ 50% for most of western China, especially the western Tibetan Plateau where the underestimates are over 50%. For daily variations of precipitation, the satellite product captures the observed precipitation signals but fails to show the correct magnitude or the timing of precipitation on synoptic or sub-synoptic scales. In addition, this satellite product overestimates the heavy and extreme daily precipitation for some areas of southeastern China but underestimates the light and moderate precipitation over most of northwestern China. Thus, the TRMM 3B42-V6 product should be used cautiously for monitoring droughts and heavy and extreme precipitation for some regions of China. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis shows that the TRMM product can well depict the spatiotemporal evolution of the observed daily precipitation for most China during the warm season.

Validation of TRMM 3B42V7 Rainfall Product under Complex Topographic and Climatic Conditions over Hexi Region in the Northwest Arid Region of China

“…The Bias is lowest in fall, at 6.01%, followed by summer (11.32%), and the winter and spring were 36 In general, the 3B42V7 rainfall product performs better during warm season (summer and autumn) than in cold season (spring and winter). This is consistent with the study of Chen et al [60] and Zhao et al [61] that evaluated TRMM 3B42V7 rainfall product over China. The relatively high latitude location of the Hexi region and its significant seasonal distribution of precipitation are the main factors for this seasonal difference.…”

Evaluation of IMERG and TRMM 3B43 Monthly Precipitation Products over Mainland China

“…This might be due to the fact that YG is located in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which has a higher elevation and more rugged terrain than the other two sub-regions (Figure 1). Many studies indicated complex topography might significantly influence the quality of satellite precipitation estimates [24,25,27].…”

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

“…Several studies have been carried out to analyse the uncertainty of TRMM in high-latitude regions (Yong et al, 2010(Yong et al, , 2014Chen et al, 2013a;Zhao and Yatagai, 2014), but studies in northeast China are few. Evaluation of GLDAS data has generally been limited to the United States and other observationrich regions of the world (Kato et al, 2007); assessments and applications in other regions are rare (Wang et al, 2011;Zhou et al, 2013).…”