Performance evaluation of TMPA version 7 estimates for precipitation and its extremes in Circum-Bohai-Sea region, China

Abstract

Precipitation and its extremes are of significance for drought and flood warning and monitoring. This study evaluates the capability of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42 V7 to detect rainfall events, especially extreme precipitation events, using gauge observations for the period 1998–2012 over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, a mid-altitude and semi-humid monsoon area. The results show that 3B42 V7 performs better at monthly and annual scales than at a daily scale. Spatially or seasonally, the rainfall pattern is more effectively captured by 3B42 V7 for the wet region or season than for the dry region or season. 3B42 V7 displays a positive relative bias in most areas, and the largest is situated in high latitude region, while negative relative bias is found at coastal regions. 3B42 V7 tends to overestimate at low and middle rainfall intensity (RI) ranges (RI <50 mm/day) but underestimate at high RI range (RI ≥50 mm/day). Overall, the total rainfall amount (PRETOT) and extreme precipitation amount (EPRETOT, above 95th percentile of daily rainfall) are slightly overestimated by 3B42 V7, while EPRETOT exhibits a lower correlation with observations than PRETOT does. The relative root mean square error (RMSE) are higher than 50 % relative to rain gauges for eight extreme precipitation indices except the maximum number of consecutive dry days (CDD), demonstrating that extreme precipitation estimates of 3B42 V7 are generally unreliable. The improvement of 3B42 V7 in capturing extreme precipitation events is anticipated through extensive efforts for its wide range of climate and hydrological applications. Overall, this study provides an evaluation of the quality of TMPA 3B42 V7 in estimating precipitation and its extremes in a mid-altitude and semi-humid monsoon region.