Multiregional Satellite Precipitation Products Evaluation over Complex Terrain

A comprehensive evaluation of nine high-resolution satellite-based rainfall (SBR) products reveals significant variability in their accuracy over complex terrains, with many underestimating wet season precipitation and overestimating dry season totals. The study, spanning nine mountainous regions globally—including the French Cévennes—ahead of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis dataset, found that gauge-adjusted SBR products perform better but depend on the representativeness of rain gauge networks. This research highlights the challenges and potential improvements in using SBR data for hydrological studies in diverse landscapes.

Derin, Y., Anagnostou, E., Berne, A., Borga, M., Boudevillain, B., Buytaert, W., Chang, C.-H., Delrieu, G., Hong, Y., Hsu, Y. C., Lavado-Casimiro, W., Manz, B., Moges, S., Nikolopoulos, E. I., Sahlu, D., Salerno, F., Rodríguez-Sánchez, J.-P., Vergara, H. J., & Yilmaz, K. K. (2016). Multiregional Satellite Precipitation Products Evaluation over Complex Terrain. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 17(6), 1817–1836. https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-15-0197.1