The TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA): Quasi-Global, Multiyear, Combined-Sensor Precipitation Estimates at Fine Scales

Abstract The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) provides a calibration-based sequential scheme for combining precipitation estimates from multiple satellites, as well as gauge analyses where feasible, at fine scales (0.25° × 0.25° and 3 hourly). TMPA is available both after and in real time, based on calibration by the TRMM Combined Instrument and TRMM Microwave Imager precipitation products, respectively. Only the after-real-time product incorporates gauge data at the present. The dataset covers the latitude band 50°N–S for the period from 1998 to the delayed present. Early validation results are as follows: the TMPA provides reasonable performance at monthly scales, although it is shown to have precipitation rate–dependent low bias due to lack of sensitivity to low precipitation rates over ocean in one of the input products [based on Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B (AMSU-B)]. At finer scales the TMPA is successful at approximately reproducing the s...

[1]  B. N. Meisner,et al.  The Relationship between Large-Scale Convective Rainfall and Cold Cloud over the Western Hemisphere during 1982-84 , 1987 .

[2]  David R. Legates,et al.  A climatology of global precipitation , 1987 .

[3]  On the estimation of climatological Z-R relationships , 1991 .

[4]  D. Rosenfeld,et al.  The Window Probability Matching Method for Rainfall Measurements with Radar , 1994 .

[5]  U. Schneider,et al.  Global precipitation estimates based on a technique for combining satellite-based estimates, rain gauge analysis, and NWP model precipitation information , 1995 .

[6]  Christian Kummerow,et al.  A simplified scheme for obtaining precipitation and vertical hydrometeor profiles from passive microwave sensors , 1996, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[7]  M. Shinoda.  Climatology of Global Precipitation : Contributions of Japanese Climatologists , 1996 .

[8]  P. Xie,et al.  Gauge-based monthly analysis of global land precipitation , 1996 .

[9]  Ziad S. Haddad,et al.  A new parametrization of the rain drop size distribution , 1997, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[10]  J. Janowiak,et al.  The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) combined precipitation dataset , 1997 .

[11]  Ziad S. Haddad,et al.  The TRMM 'Day-1' Radar/Radiometer Combined Rain-Profiling Algorithm , 1997 .

[12]  Antonio J. Busalacchi,et al.  The Tropical Ocean‐Global Atmosphere observing system: A decade of progress , 1998 .

[13]  Ye Hong,et al.  Atmospheric Latent Heating Distributions in the Tropics Derived from Satellite Passive Microwave Radiometer Measurements , 1999 .

[14]  S. Sorooshian,et al.  Evaluation of PERSIANN system satellite-based estimates of tropical rainfall , 2000 .

[15]  J. Janowiak,et al.  A Real–Time Global Half–Hourly Pixel–Resolution Infrared Dataset and Its Applications , 2001 .

[16]  J. Susskind,et al.  Global Precipitation at One-Degree Daily Resolution from Multisatellite Observations , 2001 .

[17]  M. Mcphaden,et al.  ATLAS self-siphoning rain gauge error estimates , 2001 .

[18]  Fuzhong Weng,et al.  Retrieval of Ice Cloud Parameters Using the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit , 2002 .

[19]  Fuzhong Weng,et al.  Advanced microwave sounding unit cloud and precipitation algorithms , 2003 .

[20]  Chris Kidd,et al.  Satellite Rainfall Estimation Using a Combined Pasive Microwave and Infrared Algorithm. , 2003 .

[21]  J. Janowiak,et al.  GPCP Pentad Precipitation analyses: An experimental dataset based on gauge observations and satellite estimates , 2003 .

[22]  J. Janowiak,et al.  The Version 2 Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly Precipitation Analysis (1979-Present) , 2003 .

[23]  J. Janowiak,et al.  CMORPH: A Method that Produces Global Precipitation Estimates from Passive Microwave and Infrared Data at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution , 2004 .

[24]  W. J. Shuttleworth,et al.  Analysis of 2002 and 2003 Warm-Season Precipitation from the North American Monsoon Experiment Event Rain Gauge Network , 2004 .

[25]  Kostas Lagouvardos,et al.  Statistical evaluation of MPA‐RT high‐resolution precipitation estimates from satellite platforms over the central and eastern Mediterranean , 2004 .

[26]  D. Silberstein.  Using Ground Clutter to Adjust Relative Radar Calibration at Kwajalein, RMI , 2005 .

[27]  David B. Wolff,et al.  Ground Validation for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) , 2005 .

[28]  F. J. Turk,et al.  Toward improved characterization of remotely sensed precipitation regimes with MODIS/AMSR-E blended data techniques , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[29]  D. Marks.  Improving radar rainfall estimates at Kwajalein Atoll, RMI through relative calibration adjustments , 2005 .

[30]  The Hurricane-Flood-Landslide Continuum , 2005 .

[31]  Peter Bauer,et al.  Satellite-Derived Precipitation Verification Activities Within the International Precipitation Working Group (IPWG) , 2005 .

[32]  G. Huffman.  Satellite‐Based Estimation of Precipitation Using Microwave Sensors , 2006 .

[33]  J. Janowiak,et al.  COMPARISON OF NEAR-REAL-TIME PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES FROM SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS AND NUMERICAL MODELS , 2007 .