HR: 11:50h
AN: H32A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Hydrological evaluation of satellite precipitation products in the La Plata basin
AU: * Su, F
EM: fsu@usra.edu
AF: USRA Earth System Science Program, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805, United States
AU: Hong, Y
EM: yanghong@agnes.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: University of Oklahoma, 120 David L. Boren Blvd, Norman, OK 73019, United States
AU: Crosson, W L
EM: bill.crosson@msfc.nasa.gov
AF: USRA Earth System Science Program, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805, United States
AU: Lettenmaier, D P
EM: dennisl@u.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Wilson Ceramic Laboratory Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
AB: A number of satellite precipitation products with high spatiotemporal resolutions and quasi-global coverages have become available to the research community. Precipitation is arguably the most important atmospheric driving force to the land surface hydrological system. A major science objective of the proposed Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is to improve prediction capabilities for floods, landslides, freshwater resources, and other hydrological applications. However, given the perceived retrieval errors in satellite precipitation estimates, satellite precipitation products are not well accepted by the hydrological community. In this study, we evaluate three existing satellite-based precipitation products (TMPA-3B42RT, PERSIANN, and CMORPH) in La Plata basin in South America. These products are compared among themselves and with in situ observations. To make the analysis period consistent for each data set, we selected the 2003-2006 period (all data are available at sub-daily time steps and 0.25¡ã grid) for the investigation. Spatially-distributed and basin- wide precipitation estimates from the satellite precipitation products are compared with gauge-derived precipitation to quantify the bias and uncertainty in the remotely sensed precipitation. The simulated runoff fields and streamflow resulting from a semi-distributed precipitation-runoff model driven by the satellite precipitation products are compared with those driven by gridded in situ observations and with observed streamflow. The impacts of errors in the satellite precipitation estimates on hydrologic state variables (e.g., soil moisture) and fluxes (including river discharge) are investigated. This study helps clarify the level of the accuracy of the state-of- the-art satellite precipitation products for hydrological predictions and provides useful insights into the potential utility of the planned GPM mission.
DE: 1833 Hydroclimatology
DE: 1847 Modeling
DE: 1854 Precipitation (3354)
DE: 1855 Remote sensing (1640)
DE: 1860 Streamflow
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting