Global evaluation of gridded satellite precipitation products from the NOAA Climate Data Record program

Abstract

AbstractThree satellite gridded daily precipitation datasets: PERSIANN-CDR, GPCP, and CMORPH, that are part of the NOAA/Climate Data Record (CDR) program are evaluated in this work. The three satellite precipitation products (SPPs) are analyzed over their entire period of record, ranging from over 20-year to over 35-year. The products inter-comparisons are performed at various temporal (daily to annual) and for different spatial domains in order to provide a detailed assessment of each SPP strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation includes comparison with in-situ data sets from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN-Daily) and the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN). While the three SPPs exhibited comparable annual average precipitation, significant differences were found with respect to the occurrence and the distribution of daily rainfall events, particularly in the low and high rainfall rate ranges. Using USCRN stations over CONUS, results indicated that CMORPH performed consistently better than GPCP and PERSIANN-CDR for the usual metrics used for SPP evaluation (bias, correlation, accuracy, probability of detection, and false alarm ratio among others). All SPPs were found to underestimate extreme rainfall (i.e. above the 90th percentile) from about -20% for CMORPH to -50% for PERSIANN-CDR. Those differences in performance indicate that the use of each SPP has to be considered with respect to the application envisioned; from the long-term qualitative analysis of hydro-climatological properties to the quantification of daily extreme events for example. In that regard, the three satellite precipitation CDRs constitute a unique portfolio that can be used for various long-term climatological and hydrological applications.