Evaluating GPM Precipitation Products in Real-Time
Abstract
This presentation introduces a webpage that will compare GPM precipitation estimates to the NEXRAD-based precipitation estimates derived from NOAA/NSSL's Multi-Radar, Multisensor (MRMS) platform in real-time. The MRMS products, after having been adjusted by rain gauges and passing several quality control and filtering procedures, have been used by a number of NASA investigators to evaluate level II and level III TMPA rainfall algorithms. Statistics from TMPA will thus serve as a benchmark to evaluate forthcoming GPM precipitation estimates. The NEXRAD network has also undergone an upgrade in technology with dual-polarization capabilities. These new polarimetric variables are being incorporated in MRMS to improve quality control of reflectivity data and to correct for partial beam blockages. The same logic employed for precipitation estimation without polarization diversity is being used in the latest MRMS algorithm version, thus the reference precipitation is stable during the transition from the TMPA to GPM era. We will also introduce recent developments in the derivation of probability distributions of rainfall rates instead of single values using a model quantifying the relation between radar reflectivity and the corresponding 'true' rainfall. Ensembles of reflectivity-to-rain rate relationships accounting explicitly for rain typology are derived for ground and space radars. This approach preserves the fine space/time sampling properties of the radar and conditions probabilistic QPE (PQPE) on the rain rate and rainfall type.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.H42A..07K
- Keywords:
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- 1840 HYDROLOGY Hydrometeorology;
- 1873 HYDROLOGY Uncertainty assessment;
- 1854 HYDROLOGY Precipitation;
- 1855 HYDROLOGY Remote sensing