Evaluation of TMPA 3B42-V7 Product on Extreme Precipitation Estimates

Abstract

Availability of precipitation data at high spatial and temporal resolution is crucial for the understanding of precipitation behaviors that are determinant for environmental aspects such as hydrology, ecology, and social aspects like agriculture, food security, or health issues. This study evaluates the performance of 3B42-V7 satellite-based precipitation product on extreme precipitation estimates in China, by using the Fuzzy C-Means algorithm and L-moment-based regional frequency analysis method. The China Gauge-based Daily Precipitation Analysis (CGDPA) product is employed to measure the estimation biases of 3B42-V7. Results show that: (1) for most regions of China, the Generalized Extreme Value and Generalized Normal distributions are preferable for extreme precipitation estimates; (2) the extreme precipitation estimations of 3B42-V7 for different return periods have a high correlation with those of CGDPA, with biases within 25% for a majority of China on extreme precipitation estimates.