Applicability of TRMM Precipitation Product in Qinba Mountainous Area of Shaanxi Province

Abstract

The applicability of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM3B42V7) precipitation data in the region was evaluated using the measured daily precipitation data in 16 hydrological stations in Shaanxi Province from 1998 to 2014. The evaluation process with several statistical error metrics was applied to daily, monthly, and annual timescale. The results show that the satellite and gauge stations show good consistency for monthly and annual timescale, but rather worse accuracy of daily timescale. All timescales produced the overestimated result of average precipitation measurement. The spatially statistical distribution shows a slight correlation between the observation and satellite estimation, especially at the higher elevation area such as Taibai. The TRMM precipitation value is closer to the gauge station precipitation value at a place with lower elevation, whether the timescale is daily, monthly or annual. At the same time, the smaller timescale leads to closer relations between elevation and metrics. The research results are important value of the research study of meteorological process in the Qinba mountain area.