Precipitation Data Retrieval and Quality Assurance from Different Data Sources for the Namoi Catchment in Australia

Abstract

Within the Horizon 2020 Project WaterSENSE a modular approach was developed to provide different stakeholders with the required precipitation information. An operational high-quality rainfall grid was set up for the Namoi catchment in Australia based on rain gauge adjusted radar data. Data availability and processing considerations make it necessary to explore alternative precipitation approaches. The gauge adjusted radar data will serve as a benchmark for the alternative precipitation data. The two well established satellite-based precipitation datasets IMERG and GSMaP will be analyzed with the temporal and spatial requirements of the applications envisioned in WaterSENSE in mind. While first results appear promising, these datasets will need further refinements to meet the criteria of WaterSENSE, especially with respect to the spatial resolution. Inferring information from soil moisture-derived from EO observations to increase the spatial detail of the existing satellite-based datasets is a promising approach that will be investigated along with other alternatives.