A Microwave Infrared Threshold Technique to Improve the GOES Precipitation Index

Abstract

Abstract A method to improve the GOES Precipitation Index (GPI) technique by combining satellite microwave and infrared (IR) data is proposed and tested. Using microwave-based rainfall estimates, the method, termed the Universally Adjusted GPI (UAGPI), modifies both GPI parameters (i.e., the IR brightness temperature threshold and the mean rain rate) to minimize summation of estimation errors during the microwave sampling periods. With respect to each grid, monthly rainfall estimates are obtained in a manner identical to the GPI except for the use of the optimized parameters. The proposed method is compared with the Adjusted GPI (AGPI) method of Adler et al. (1993), which adjusts the GPI monthly rainfall estimates directly using an adjustment ratio. The two methods are compared using the First Algorithm Intercomparison Project (AIP/1) dataset, which covers two month-long periods over the Japanese islands and surrounding oceanic regions. Two types of microwave-related errors are addressed during the compar...