Evaluation of the TRMM-3B43 V7 rainfall products on a monthly scale in the Northwest of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. Department of Geography, payam-e-Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Satellite rainfall estimate systems can produce data for areas for which other sources are
unavailable. Without referring to ground measurements, satellite-based estimates cannot be
used directly before bias correction. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the
TRMM-3B43 V7 rainfall products in the Northwest of Iran. The evaluation was carried out
using monthly data obtained from 21 meteorological stations during 1998–2015. The
monthly and annual spatial distributions of the Pearson correlation coefficient between the
station and satellite-based observations as well as the statistical error measure were
calculated. The results revealed that the correlations between TRMM 3B43 and rain gauge
data were high (R> 0.80) in October and small (R < 0.55) in August. Moreover, mean
annual spatial distribution of R showed that the small values of R occurred in the Northeast
and the southern mountainous regions. We found that the TRMM-3B43 V7 overestimated
rainfall in the Northeast, in September, October and November (>30 mm) and in December
to May (>20 mm). On the contrary, an underestimation was found in the Southwest regions
where summer season (June, July & August) is generally characterized by small anomalies
in terms of R values. Generally, the satellite products applied in this study underestimate
higher rainfall values while showing overestimation for lower rainfall records. The measure
of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) showed that a large spatial variability takes place in
September, October and November in most of the stations, particularly when rainfall
records is less than 50 mm. Meanwhile, the lowest variability occurred in June, July and
August with a slight increase in the Northeast. Our findings imply that satellite products
have poor performance for estimating higher rainfalls in the Northwest of Iran on a monthly
scale.

Keywords


atellite precipitation analysis performance over China. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 118 (23), 1-10.
Chen, S., Hong, Y., Gourley, J.J., Huffman, G.J., Tian, Y., Cao, Q., Yong, B., Kirstetter, P.E., Hu, J., Hardy, J., Li, Z., Khan, S.I., and Xue, X. 2013b. Evaluation of the successive V6 and V7 TRMM multi-satellite precipitation analysis over the Continental United States. Water Resources Research,49(12), 8174-8186.
Chen, F., and Li, X. 2016. Evaluation of IMERG and TRMM 3B43 Monthly Precipitation Products over Mainland China. Remote Sensing, 8(6), 472.
Dinku, T., Ceccato, P., GroverKopec, E., Lemma, M., Connor, S.J., and Ropelewski, C.F. 2007.Validation of satellite rainfall products over East Africa's complex topography. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 28(7), 1503-1526.
Erfanian, M., Kazempour, S., and Heidari, H. 2013. Evaluation and calibration of TRMM satellite rainfall data in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, Geography- Regional planning, 3(3), 83-95 (In Persian).
Erfanian, M., Vafaei, N., and Rezaeianzade, M. 2014. A new method for drought risk assessment by integrating TRMM monthly rainfall data and the Terra/MODIS NDVI data in Fars Province, Iran. Physical Geography Research Quarterly, 46(1), 93-108 (In Persian).
Erfanian, M., Kazampour, S., and Heidari, H. 2016. Calibration of TRMM satellite 3B42 and 3B43 rainfall data in climatic zones of Iran, Physical Geography Research Quarterly, 48(2), 287-303 (In Persian).
Feidas, H. 2010. Validation of satellite rainfall products over Greece. Theoretical and Applied climatology, 99(1-2), 193-216.
Ghajarnia, N., Liaghat, A., and Arasteh, P.D. 2015. Comparison and evaluation of high resolution precipitation estimation products in Urmia Basin-Iran. Atmospheric Research, 158, 50-65.
Ha, K.J., Jeon, E.H., and Oh, H.M. 2007. Spatial and temporal characteristics of precipitation using an extensive network of ground gauge in the Korean Peninsula. Atmospheric research, 86(3), 330-339.
Habib, E., Henschke, A., and Adler, R F. 2009. Evaluation of TMPA satellite-based research and realtime rainfall estimates during six tropical-related heavy rainfall events over Louisiana, USA. Atmospheric Research, 94(3), 373-388.
Hirpa, F.A., Gebremichael, M., and Hopson, T. 2010. Evaluation of high-resolution satellite precipitation products over very complex terrain in Ethiopia. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology,49(5), 1044-1051.
Huang, Y., Chen, S., Cao, Q., Hong, Y., Wu, B., Huang, M., Qiao, L., Zhang, Z., Li, Z., Li, W., and Yang, X. (2013). Evaluation of version-7 TRMM multi-satellite precipitation analysis product during the Beijing extreme heavy rainfall event of 21 July 2012. Water, 6(1), 32-44.
Huffman, G., Adler, R., Bolvin, D., & Nelkin, E. 2004. Uncertainty in fine-scale MPA precipitation estimates and implications for hydrometeorological analysis and forecasting. 18th Conf. on Hydrology, 11–18 January 2004. Seattle, WA.
Huffman, G.J., Adler, R.F., Bolvin, D.T., Gu, g., Nelkin, E.J., Bowman, K.P., Hong, Y., Stocker, E.F.,
and Wolff, D.B. 2007. The TRMM multisatellite precipitation analysis (TMPA): Quasi-global, multiyear, combined-sensor precipitation estimates at fine scales. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 8(1), 38-55.
Huffman, G.J., Adler, R.F., Bolvin, D.T., and Nelkin, E.J. 2010. The TRMM multi-satellite precipitation analysis (TMPA). In Satellite rainfall applications for surface hydrology (pp. 3-22). Springer Netherlands.
Ioannidou, M.P., Kalogiros, J.A., and Stavrakis, A.K. 2016. Comparison of the TRMM Precipitation Radar rainfall estimation with ground-based disdrometer and radar measurements in South Greece. Atmospheric Research, 181, 172-185.
Islam, M.N., Das, S., and Uyeda, H. 2010. Calibration of TRMM derived rainfall over Nepal during 1998–2007. Open Atmospheric Science Journal, 4, 12-23.
Islam, N., and Uyeda, H. (2005, July). Comparison of TRMM 3B42 products with surface rainfall over Bangladesh. In Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2005. IGARSS'05. Proceedings. 2005.IEEE International (Vol. 6, pp. 4112-4115). IEEE.
Jamandre, C.A., and Narisma, G.T. 2013. Spatio-temporal validation of satellite-based rainfall estimates in the Philippines. Atmospheric Research, 122, 599-608.
Javan, K., Rasouli, A.A., Erfanian, M., and Sari-Sarraf, B. 2017. Comparative evaluation of rainfall estimation methods in Lake Urmia Basin, Geography and Planning, Accepted Manuscript, Under Press (In Persian).
Javanmard, S., Yatagai, A., Nodzu, M. I., BodaghJamali, J., and Kawamoto, H. 2010. Comparing highresolution gridded precipitation data with satellite rainfall estimates of TRMM_3B42 over Iran. Advances in Geosciences, 25, 119-125.
Katiraie-Boroujerdy, P.S., Nasrollahi, N., Hsu, K.L., and Sorooshian, S. 2013. Evaluation of satellitebased precipitation estimation over Iran. Journal of Arid Environments, 97, 205-219.
Kneis, D., Chatterjee, C., and Singh, R. 2014. Evaluation of TRMM rainfall estimates over a large Indian river basin (Mahanadi). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 18(7), 2493-2502.
Krajewski, W.F., Ciach, G.J., and Habib, E. 2003. An analysis of small-scale rainfall variability in different climatic regimes. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 48(2), 151-162.
Kummerow, C., Barnes, W., Kozu, T., Shiue, J., and Simpson, J. 1998. The tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) sensor package. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 15(3), 809-817.
Kummerow, C., Simpson, J., Thiele, O., Barnes, W., Chang, A. T. C., Stocker, E., Adler, R.F., Hou, A., Kakar, R., Wentz, F., and Ashcroft, P. 2000. The status of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) after two years in orbit. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 39(12), 1965-1982.
Levizzani, V., Amorati, R., and Meneguzzo, F. 2002. A review of satellite-based rainfall estimation methods. European Commission Project MUSIC Report (Contract n°:EVK1-CT-2000-00058), 66.
Li, X. H., Zhang, Q., and Xu, C.Y. 2012. Suitability of the TRMM satellite rainfalls in driving a distributed hydrological model for water balance computations in Xinjiang catchment, Poyang lake basin. Journal of Hydrology, 426, 28-38.
Moazami, S., Golian, S., Kavianpour, M.R., and Hong, Y. 2013. Comparison of PERSIANN and V7 TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) products with rain gauge data over Iran.
International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34(22), 8156-8171.
Moazami, S., Golian, S., Hong, Y., Sheng, C., and Kavianpour, M.R. 2016. Comprehensive evaluation of four high-resolution satellite precipitation products under diverse climate conditions in Iran. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 61(2), 420-440.
Nastos, P.T., Kapsomenakis, J., and Philandras, K.M. 2016. Evaluation of the TRMM 3B43 gridded precipitation estimates over Greece. Atmospheric Research, 169, 497-514.
Oke, A.M.C., Frost, A.J., and Beesley, C.A. 2009. The use of TRMM satellite data as a predictor in the spatial interpolation of daily precipitation over Australia. In Proceedings of the 18th World IMACS/MODSIM Congress.
Pombo, S., de Oliveira, R.P., and Mendes, A. 2015. Validation of remotesensing precipitation products for Angola. Meteorological Applications, 22(3), 395-409.
Prat, O.P., and Nelson, B.R. 2014. Characteristics of annual, seasonal, and diurnal precipitation in the Southeastern United States derived from long-term remotely sensed data. Atmospheric Research, 144,4-20. 
Qiao, L., Hong, Y., Chen, S., Zou, C.B., Gourley, J.J., and Yong, B. 2014. Performance assessment of the successive Version 6 and Version 7 TMPA products over the climate-transitional zone in the southern Great Plains, USA. Journal of Hydrology, 513, 446-456.
Pidwirny, M. 2006. Fundamentals of Physical Geography.
Rasouli, A.A., Erfanian, M., Sari Sarraf, B., and Javan, K. 2016a. Comparative evaluation of TRMM estimated rainfall amounts and rainfall recorded by ground stations in Lake Urmia Basin, Geographic Space, 54, 195-217 (In Persian).
Rasouli, A.A., Erfanian, M., Sari Sarraf, B., and Javan, K. 2016b. Evaluating a conceptual model of cloud to predict 6-hour rainfall in the Lake Urmia Basin, Journal of Geography and Territorial Spatial Arrangement, 6(20), 183-202 (In Persian).
Rosenfeld, D. 1999. TRMM observed first direct evidence of smoke from forest fires inhibiting rainfall. Geophysical Research Letters, 26(20), 3105-3108.
Sorooshian, S., Hsu, K. L., Gao, X., Gupta, H.V., Imam, B., and Braithwaite, D. 2000. Evaluation of PERSIANN system satellite–based estimates of tropical rainfall. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 81(9), 2035-2046.
Wang, J., & Wolff, D.B. 2012. Evaluation of TRMM rain estimates using ground measurements over central Florida. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 51(5), 926-940.
Worqlul, A.W., Maathuis, B., Adem, A.A., Demissie, S.S., Langan, S., and Steenhuis, T.S. 2014. Comparison of rainfall estimations by TRMM 3B42, MPEG and CFSR with ground-observed data for the Lake Tana basin in Ethiopia. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 18(12), 4871-4881.
Zhao, T., and Yatagai, A. 2014. Evaluation of TRMM 3B42 product using a new gaugebased analysis of daily precipitation over China. International Journal of Climatology, 34(8), 2749-2762.