Extension of the TAMSAT Satellite-Based Rainfall Monitoring over Africa and from 1983 to Present

Tropical Applications of Meteorology Using Satellite Data and Ground-Based Observations (TAMSAT) rainfall monitoring products have been extended to provide spatially contiguous rainfall estimates across Africa. This has been achieved through a new, climatology-based calibration, which varies in both space and time. As a result, cumulative estimates of rainfall are now issued at the end of each 10-day period (dekad) at 4-km spatial resolution with pan-African coverage. The utility of the products for decision making is improved by the routine provision of validation reports, for which the 10-day (dekadal) TAMSAT rainfall estimates are compared with independent gauge observations. This paper describes the methodology by which the TAMSAT method has been applied to generate the pan-African rainfall monitoring products. It is demonstrated through comparison with gauge measurements that the method provides skillful estimates, although with a systematic dry bias. This study illustrates TAMSAT’s value as a complementary method of estimating rainfall through examples of successful operational application.

TARNAVSKY Elena;  GRIMES David;  MAIDMENT Ross;  BLACK Emily;  ALLAN Richard;  STRINGER Marc;  CHADWICK Robin;  KAYITAKIRE Francois; 

2015-01-13

AMER METEOROLOGICAL SOC

JRC94196

1558-8424,   

http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0016.1,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC94196,   

10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0016.1,