Comparative Analysis of TMPA and IMERG Precipitation Datasets in the Arid Environment of El-Qaa Plain, Sinai

Mona Morsy,Silas Michaelides,Thomas Scholten,Peter Dietrich,Erik Borg,Youssef Sherief

doi:10.3390/rs13040588

Abstract

The replenishment of aquifers depends mainly on precipitation rates, which is of vital importance for determining water budgets in arid and semi-arid regions. El-Qaa Plain in the Sinai Peninsula is a region that experiences constant population growth. This study compares the performance of two sets of satellite-based data of precipitation and in situ rainfall measurements. The dates selected refer to rainfall events between 2015 and 2018. For this purpose, 0.1° and 0.25° spatial resolution TMPA (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis) and IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement) data were retrieved and analyzed, employing appropriate statistical metrics. The best-performing data set was determined as the data source capable to most accurately bridge gaps in the limited rain gauge records, embracing both frequent light-intensity rain events and more rare heavy-intensity events. With light-intensity events, the corresponding satellite-based data sets differ the least and correlate more, while the greatest differences and weakest correlations are noted for the heavy-intensity events. The satellite-based records best match those of the rain gauges during light-intensity events, when compared to the heaviest ones. IMERG data exhibit a superior performance than TMPA in all rainfall intensities.

Highlights

Such precipitation measurements are essential over a wide range of spatiotemporal scales
Over several regions around the world, precipitation measurements from rain gauges or other in situ rainfall measuring instruments are limited by the scarcity of observations from a locally coarse network [2,3,4]
The Sinai Peninsula in Egypt is an example of a region with insufficient ground-based measurements from rain gauges

Summary

Introduction

Accurate measurements of precipitation are indispensable for a large spectrum of socio-economic human activities [1]. Such precipitation measurements are essential over a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. Over several regions around the world, precipitation measurements from rain gauges or other in situ rainfall measuring instruments are limited by the scarcity of observations from a locally coarse network [2,3,4]. Data from other ground-based platforms (e.g., ground-based weather radars) cannot fill in the gap. The Sinai Peninsula in Egypt is an example of a region with insufficient ground-based measurements from rain gauges.

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Conclusion