An Updated TRMM Composite Climatology of Tropical Rainfall and Its Validation

Wang, Jianjian; Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George J.; Bolvin, David T.

doi:10.1175/jcli-d-13-00331.1

Cited by 54 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The GPCP ocean magnitudes also compare well (within a few percent) with TRMM climatology estimates in the tropics (Adler et al 2009;Wang et al 2014). In addition, recent studies using TRMM plus CloudSat information by Behrangi et al (2012Behrangi et al ( , 2014 report ocean precipitation that is 4.3% above GPCP, and Trenberth et al (2009) applied a 5% increase to GPCP ocean precipitation in their analysis.…”

Section: B Evaluation Of Metricssupporting

confidence: 57%

The Observed State of the Water Cycle in the Early Twenty-First Century

et al. 2015

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This study quantifies mean annual and monthly fluxes of Earth's water cycle over continents and ocean basins during the first decade of the millennium. To the extent possible, the flux estimates are based on satellite measurements first and data-integrating models second. A careful accounting of uncertainty in the estimates is included. It is applied within a routine that enforces multiple water and energy budget constraints simultaneously in a variational framework in order to produce objectively determined optimized flux estimates. In the majority of cases, the observed annual surface and atmospheric water budgets over the continents and oceans close with much less than 10% residual. Observed residuals and optimized uncertainty estimates are considerably larger for monthly surface and atmospheric water budget closure, often nearing or exceeding 20% in North America, Eurasia, Australia and neighboring islands, and the Arctic and South Atlantic Oceans. The residuals in South America and Africa tend to be smaller, possibly because cold land processes are negligible. Fluxes were poorly observed over the Arctic Ocean, certain seas, Antarctica, and the Australasian and Indonesian islands, leading to reliance on atmospheric analysis estimates. Many of the satellite systems that contributed data have been or will soon be lost or replaced. Models that integrate ground-based and remote observations will be critical for ameliorating gaps and discontinuities in the data records caused by these transitions. Continued development of such models is essential for maximizing the value of the observations. Next-generation observing systems are the best hope for significantly improving global water budget accounting.

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Section: B Evaluation Of Metricssupporting

confidence: 57%

The Observed State of the Water Cycle in the Early Twenty-First Century

et al. 2015

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“…The TRMM program has three different algorithm products: one based on the passive microwave instrument, the TMI; one based on the radar, the PR; and one based on a combination of the two instruments. The three estimates have been combined into a TRMM composite climatology (TCC) Wang et al 2014), where the local spread among the estimates provides a measure of confidence in the result. As indicated by the spread of estimates in some locations (and the maps in the referenced articles), there can be significant differences between these three estimates in certain regions, but over the large area of the tropical oceans, they are within a few percent of each other, as seen in Table 2.…”

Section: Global and Tropical Mean Precipitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Precipitation: Means, Variations and Trends During the Satellite Era (1979–2014)

et al. 2017

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Global precipitation variations over the satellite era are reviewed using the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) monthly, globally complete analyses, which integrate satellite and surface gauge information. Mean planetary values are examined and compared, over ocean, with information from recent satellite programs and related estimates, with generally positive agreements, but with some indication of small underestimates for GPCP over the global ocean. Variations during the satellite era in global precipitation are tied to ENSO events, with small increases during El Ninos, and very noticeable decreases after major volcanic eruptions. No overall significant trend is noted in the global precipitation mean value, unlike that for surface temperature and atmospheric water vapor. However, there is a pattern of positive and negative trends across the planet with increases over tropical oceans and decreases over some middle latitude regions. These observed patterns are a result of a combination of inter-decadal variations and the effect of the global warming during the period. The results reviewed here indicate the value of such analyses as GPCP and the possible improvement in the information as the record lengthens and as new, more sophisticated and more accurate observations are included.

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“…from the GPCP (Global Precipi-overestimation of 8 to 10 %. Note that these comparisons were done against measurements on atolls, although the representativeness of the atoll gauges of open-ocean rainfall is still an unanswered question (Wang et al, 2014). Andersson et al (2011) have shown that HOAPS gives lower precipitation rates than ERA-Interim, except for small areas in the northern subtropics, the north-western and south-western Atlantic Ocean.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HOAPS and ERA-Interim precipitation over the sea: validation against shipboard in situ measurements

et al. 2016

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Abstract. The satellite-derived HOAPS (Hamburg OceanAtmosphere Parameters and Fluxes from Satellite Data) and ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) ERA-Interim reanalysis data sets have been validated against in situ precipitation measurements from ship rain gauges and optical disdrometers over the open ocean by applying a statistical analysis for binary estimates. For this purpose collocated pairs of data were merged within a certain temporal and spatial threshold into single events, according to the satellites' overpass, the observation and the ERAInterim times. HOAPS detects the frequency of precipitation well, while ERA-Interim strongly overestimates it, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Although precipitation rates are difficult to compare because along-track point measurements are collocated with areal estimates and the number of available data are limited, we find that HOAPS underestimates precipitation rates, while ERA-Interim's Atlantic-wide average precipitation rate is close to measurements. However, when regionally averaged over latitudinal belts, deviations between the observed mean precipitation rates and ERAInterim exist. The most obvious ERA-Interim feature is an overestimation of precipitation in the area of the intertropical convergence zone and the southern subtropics over the Atlantic Ocean. For a limited number of snow measurements by optical disdrometers, it can be concluded that both HOAPS and ERA-Interim are suitable for detecting the occurrence of solid precipitation.

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An Updated TRMM Composite Climatology of Tropical Rainfall and Its Validation

Cited by 54 publications

References 22 publications

The Observed State of the Water Cycle in the Early Twenty-First Century

The Observed State of the Water Cycle in the Early Twenty-First Century

Global Precipitation: Means, Variations and Trends During the Satellite Era (1979–2014)

HOAPS and ERA-Interim precipitation over the sea: validation against shipboard in situ measurements

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