Abstract

Global quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) at higher spatial and temporal resolutions are critical for the development of applications that address a variety of scientific and societal needs. These applications range from short-term forecasting of landslides and floods to long-term climat... Show moreGlobal quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) at higher spatial and temporal resolutions are critical for the development of applications that address a variety of scientific and societal needs. These applications range from short-term forecasting of landslides and floods to long-term climate impact studies. Because much of Earth is covered by oceans and sparsely populated land regions, the only viable means for obtaining long-term global precipitation records is from satellite-based observations. Satellite precipitation products are derived from a variety of sensors located on geostationary (GEO) and low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellite systems. GEO satellite systems provide relatively frequent visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) cloud-top information, while LEO satellites include passive microwave (PMW) instruments. PMW observations provide relatively good estimates of precipitation because of the strong relationship of the retrieved signal from hydrometeors (rain and snow) within the cloud. These observations, combined with space-based radar observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR), have provided the science community a nearly unbroken data record of spaceborne radar and PMW observations of tropical and subtropical precipitation systems for over 15 years (as of March 2013). In recent years, there has been significant development of multisensor techniques that combine information from the available satellite sensors to provide global precipitation products with uniform coverage at finer scales and with greater accuracy. Show less