Using TRMM-derived rainfall estimates to characterize hydrological processes within the data-scarce environment of the Congo Basin

Ground data availability is a limiting factor to quantitatively understand the Congo River Basin hydrology. During the past 3 years, Remote Sensing combined with Hydrological Modeling has provided means to characterize rainfall regime in the Congo Basin, to depict the rainfall-driven climate of the Congo during the past 10 years, to explore the response of vegetation phenology to precipitation across the Basin and to characterize streamflow regime across the Congo watershed. Satellite-based estimates of rainfall from NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) have demonstrated their capability in providing baseline information on the Congo Basin Hydrology. The proposed poster is a synthesis of this work and includes a novel approach to modeling monthly rainfall with limited gauge data for calibration, as well as a new climate classification of the Congo Basin.