Cross-Examining Precipitation Products by Rain Gauge, Remote Sensing, and WRF Simulations over a South American Region across the Pacific Coast and Andes
Mengye Chen,
Yongjie Huang,
Zhi Li,
Albert Johan Mamani Larico,
Ming Xue,
Yang Hong,
Xiao-Ming Hu,
Hector Mayol Novoa,
Elinor Martin,
Renee McPherson,
Jiaqi Zhang,
Shang Gao,
Yixin Wen,
Andres Vitaliano Perez,
Isaac Yanqui Morales
Affiliations
Mengye Chen
School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Yongjie Huang
Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Zhi Li
School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Albert Johan Mamani Larico
Escuela de Ingeniería Civil de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04001, Peru
Ming Xue
Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Yang Hong
School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Xiao-Ming Hu
Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Hector Mayol Novoa
Escuela de Ingeniería Civil de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04001, Peru
Elinor Martin
School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Renee McPherson
Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Jiaqi Zhang
School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Shang Gao
School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Yixin Wen
Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Andres Vitaliano Perez
Escuela de Ingeniería Civil de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04001, Peru
Isaac Yanqui Morales
Escuela de Ingeniería Civil de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04001, Peru
Precipitation estimate is important for earth science studies and applications, and it is one of the most difficult meteorological quantities to estimate accurately. For regions such as Peru, reliable gridded precipitation products are lacking due to complex terrains and large portions of remote lands that limit the accuracy of satellite precipitation estimation and in situ measurement density. This study evaluates and cross-examines two high-resolution satellite-based precipitation products, a global rain-gauge interpolated precipitation product, and a Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model that simulated precipitation for a ten-year period from 2010 to 2019 in the Peruvian Andes region across the Pacific coast, Andes, and in the Amazon. The precipitation estimates examined in this study are the Integrated Multi-SatellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG), Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP), Global Precipitation Climatology Center product (GPCC), and a 3 km grid spacing WRF-based regional climate model (RCM) simulation. The evaluation and cross-examination were performed at sub-daily (6 h), daily, and monthly time scales, and at various spatial resolutions. The results show that the WRF simulation performs as well as, if not better than, GPM IMERG in the low precipitation and dry regions but becomes inaccurate in wet regions. GPM IMERG is more suitable for higher precipitation and wet regions, and MSWEP shows a systematic overestimation over the study area. It is therefore important to choose the most suitable precipitation product based on research needs and climate condition of the study for the challenging Peruvian Andes region.
