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Point rainfall statistics for ecohydrological analyses derived from satellite integrated rainfall measurements
Author(s) -
del Jesus Manuel,
Rinaldo Andrea,
RodríguezIturbe Ignacio
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2015wr016935
Subject(s) - satellite , transect , environmental science , meteorology , rain gauge , belt transect , remote sensing , geography , geology , precipitation , oceanography , aerospace engineering , engineering
Satellite rainfall measurements, nowadays commonly available, provide valuable information about the spatial structure of rainfall. In areas with low‐density rain gage networks, or where these networks are nonexistent, satellite rainfall measurements can also provide useful estimates to be used as virtual rain gages. However, satellite and rain gage measurements are statistically different in nature and cannot be directly compared to one another. In the present paper, we develop a methodology to downscale satellite rainfall measurements to generate rain‐gage‐equivalent statistics. We apply the methodology to four locations along a strong rainfall gradient in the Kalahari transect, southern Africa, to validate the methodology. We show that the method allows the estimation of point rainfall statistics where only satellite measurements exist. Point rainfall statistics are key descriptors for ecohydrologic studies linking the response of vegetation to rainfall dynamics.