Title:

Comparison of global gridded precipitation products over a mountainous region of Africa

Author(s):

Dinku, Tufa
Connor, Stephen J.
Ceccato, Pietro N.
Ropelewski, Chester F.

Date:

2008

Type:

Articles

Department:

International Research Institute for Climate and Society

Volume:

28

Permanent URL:

http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:9027

Book/Journal Title:

International Journal of Climatology

Abstract:

Five gridded monthly precipitation products are evaluated using a gauge network over complex topography in Africa. The global gridded products considered are produced by the Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC), NOAA Climate Prediction Center (NOAA-CPC), and the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (UEA-CRU). Three different products from GPCC are available at multiple spatial resolutions: 0.5, 1 and 2.5° ; the NOAA-CPC product has a spatial resolution of 2.5° while that of UEA-CRU is 0.5° . Comparisons of the GPCC and UEA-CRU products are carried out at spatial resolutions of 0.5, 1 and 2.5° , while NOAA-CPC is compared with the other products only at 2.5° resolution. There is very strong agreement between the gridded global products and the reference raingauge data. Average correlation coefficients are about 0.95, 0.92, and 0.90 at 2.5, 1.0 and 0.5° spatial resolutions, respectively. Both systematic and random errors are reasonably low. The performance of these products is highest during the wettest season (Jun-Aug), and relatively poor during the dry season (Dec-Feb). The seasonal differences are more prominent at high resolution. These results are very encouraging, particularly, when considering the complex terrain of the validation site.

Subject(s):

Atmospheric sciences
Environmental studies

DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.1669

Item views:

155

Metadata:

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