Evaluation of Precipitation Products for Global Hydrological Prediction

Abstract Accurate precipitation data are critical for hydrologic prediction, yet outside the developed world in situ networks are so sparse as to make alternative methods of precipitation estimation essential. Several such alternative precipitation products that would be adequate to drive hydrologic prediction models at regional and global scales are evaluated. As a benchmark, a gridded station-based dataset is used, which is compared with the global 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40), and a satellite-based dataset [i.e., the Global Precipitation Climatology Project One-Degree Daily (GPCP 1DD)]. Each dataset, with a common set of other meteorological forcings aside from precipitation, was used to force the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrology model globally for the 1997–99 period for which the three datasets overlapped. The three precipitation datasets and simulated hydrological variables (i.e., soil moisture, runoff, evapotranspiration, and snow water equivalent) are compared in terms ...

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