Hydrological application and accuracy evaluation of PERSIANN satellite-based precipitation estimates over a humid continental climate catchment

Abstract

Study regionThe Wełna catchment (52°30'–53°N and 16°35'–17°50'E) is a medium-sized, lowland catchment in the central part of Poland in Central Europe with a total catchment area of 2621 km2. Study focusResearch evaluating the performing of satellite-based precipitation datasets in Poland and Central Europe is scarce. This study assesses the accuracy and implements five satellite-based precipitation estimates in hydrological simulations. PERSIANN (a satellite-based precipitation dataset) family datasets (consisting of PERSIANN, PERSIANN-CDR, PERSIANN-CCS, PDIR-NOW, PERSIANN-CCS-CDR) was evaluated in daily steps and seasonal steps against a regional gridded dataset (G2DC-PL+) in the period 2003–2019. Soil and Water Assessment Tool+ (SWAT+), a relatively new eco-hydrological model, was employed to simulate runoff in daily time steps. New hydrological insights for the regionOur results revealed that PERSIANN family products could accurately detect precipitation events according to POD, FAR, and CSI indicators. PERSIANN-CDR has a better correlation in the northern and central parts, and shows low accuracy in the southeastern catchment with a higher altitude. A similar pattern is observed in PDIR-NOW and PERSIANN-CCS for R2. Moreover, the SWAT+ results demonstrate that G2DC-PL+ could be a reliable source alternative to gauge data in runoff simulations. PERSIANN-CDR performed slightly better in runoff simulations compared to other gridded datasets.