Extension of the TAMSAT Satellite-Based Rainfall Monitoring over Africa and from 1983 to Present
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: 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.
Institutions: University of Reading, Met Office, Joint Research Centre
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $857
Awards: G1074096169, Comparing atmosphere-land surface feedbacks from models within the tropics (CALM), G5452197466, Building understanding of climate variability into planning of groundwater supplies from low storage aquifers in Africa (BRAVE), Projected Responses of Extreme Precipitation and Atmospheric Radiative Energy (PREPARE)
OpenAlex ID: W1999285260