Assessing the Potential of IMERG and TMPA Satellite Precipitation Products for Flood Simulations and Frequency Analyses over a Typical Humid Basin in South China

Abstract

The availability of the new generation Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) V06 products facilitates the utility of long-term higher spatial and temporal resolution precipitation data (0.1° × 0.1° and half-hourly) for monitoring and modeling extreme hydrological events in data-sparse watersheds. This study aims to evaluate the utility of IMERG Final run (IMERG-F), Late run (IMERG-L) and Early run (IMERG-E) products, in flood simulations and frequency analyses over the Mishui basin in Southern China during 2000–2017, in comparison with their predecessors, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) products (3B42RT and 3B42V7). First, the accuracy of the five satellite precipitation products (SPPs) for daily precipitation and extreme precipitation events estimation was systematically compared by using high-density gauge station observations. Once completed, the modeling capability of the SPPs in daily streamflow simulations and flood event simulations, using a grid-based Xinanjiang model, was assessed. Finally, the flood frequency analysis utility of the SPPs was evaluated. The assessment of the daily precipitation accuracy shows that IMERG-F has the optimum statistical performance, with the highest CC (0.71) and the lowest RMSE (8.7 mm), respectively. In evaluating extreme precipitation events, among the IMERG series, IMERG-E exhibits the most noticeable variation while IMERG-L and IMERG-F display a relatively low variation. The 3B42RT exhibits a severe inaccuracy and the improvement of 3B42V7 over 3B42RT is comparatively limited. Concerning the daily streamflow simulations, IMERG-F demonstrates a superior performance while 3B42V7 tends to seriously underestimate the streamflow. With regards to the simulations of flood events, IMERG-F has performed optimally, with an average DC of 0.83. Among the near-real-time SPPs, IMERG-L outperforms IMERG-E and 3B42RT over most floods, attaining a mean DC of 0.81. Furthermore, IMERG-L performs the best in the flood frequency analyses, where bias is within 15% for return periods ranging from 2–100 years. This study is expected to contribute practical guidance to the new generation of SPPs for extreme precipitation monitoring and flood simulations as well as promoting the hydro-meteorological applications.