Evaluation of multi-source satellite rainfall products in tekeze basin, Ethiopia

Abstract

Accurate and reliable rainfall information is crucial for regional water resource management, particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia. Unfortunately, Ethiopia faces challenges with sparse and inconsistent rainfall measurements, as well as a lack of updated data. As a result, the spatio-temporal characteristics of rainfall are poorly understood. In recent years, satellite-derived rainfall products have emerged as an alternative source of rainfall data to overcome these limitations. This study focuses on validating the performance of three satellite rainfall products, namely PERSIANN_CDR, CHIRPS, and TMPA3B42, over the Tekeze basin in Ethiopia. The evaluation involves assessing the prediction accuracy of these products using various statistical measures and spatial comparisons. The study period extends from 2007 to 2017. The results demonstrate that PERSIANN_CDR exhibits a very low percent bias (PBIAS), while CHIRPS and TMPA3B42 significantly overestimate observed rainfall. Moreover, PERSIANN_CDR performs well in capturing rainfall during the kiremt, belg, and bega seasons, with the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) values of 2.9, 1.4, and 0.8 mm/day, respectively. On the other hand, TMPA3B42 performs poorly during these seasons, showing the largest RMSE values of 3.1, 1.9, and 1.1 mm/day, respectively. In terms of detecting observed rainfall, both PERSIANN_CDR and TMPA3B42 exhibit good skills, while CHIRPS has the lowest detection skill across all seasons. Overall, the findings of this validation study highlight the potential of the PERSIANN_CDR product for various operational applications in the Tekeze basin. It can be utilized for studying rainfall patterns and variability in the East African region.