The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere

The integrated multi-satellite retrievals for the global precipitation measurement (IMERG) data, which is the latest generation of multi-satellite fusion inversion precipitation product provided by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, has been widely applied in hydrological research a...

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Main Authors: Pengfei Lv, Guocan Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4334
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author Pengfei Lv
Guocan Wu
author_facet Pengfei Lv
Guocan Wu
author_sort Pengfei Lv
collection DOAJ
description The integrated multi-satellite retrievals for the global precipitation measurement (IMERG) data, which is the latest generation of multi-satellite fusion inversion precipitation product provided by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, has been widely applied in hydrological research and applications. However, the quality of IMERG data needs to be validated, as this technology is essentially an indirect way to obtain precipitation information. This study evaluated the performance of IMERG final run (version 6.0) products from 2001 to 2020, using three sets of gauge-derived precipitation data obtained from the Integrated Surface Database, China Meteorological Administration, and U.S. Climate Reference Network. The results showed a basic consistency in the spatial pattern of annual precipitation total between IMERG data and gauge observations. The highest and lowest correlations between IMERG data and gauge observations were obtained in North Asia (0.373, <i>p</i> < 0.05) and Europe (0.308, <i>p</i> < 0.05), respectively. IMERG data could capture the bimodal structure of diurnal precipitation in South Asia but overestimates a small variation in North Asia. The disparity was attributed to the frequency overestimation but intensity underestimation in satellite inversion, since small raindrops may evaporate before arriving at the ground but can be identified by remote sensors. IMERG data also showed similar patterns of interannual precipitation variability to gauge observation, while overestimating the proportion of annual precipitation hours by 2.5% in North America, and 2.0% in North Asia. These findings deepen our understanding of the capabilities of the IMERG product to estimate precipitation at the hourly scale, and can be further applied to improve satellite precipitation retrieval.
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spelling doaj-art-46dac37202cf4cf3a40d175c2959710f2025-08-20T01:54:04ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-11-011622433410.3390/rs16224334The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern HemispherePengfei Lv0Guocan Wu1State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaThe integrated multi-satellite retrievals for the global precipitation measurement (IMERG) data, which is the latest generation of multi-satellite fusion inversion precipitation product provided by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, has been widely applied in hydrological research and applications. However, the quality of IMERG data needs to be validated, as this technology is essentially an indirect way to obtain precipitation information. This study evaluated the performance of IMERG final run (version 6.0) products from 2001 to 2020, using three sets of gauge-derived precipitation data obtained from the Integrated Surface Database, China Meteorological Administration, and U.S. Climate Reference Network. The results showed a basic consistency in the spatial pattern of annual precipitation total between IMERG data and gauge observations. The highest and lowest correlations between IMERG data and gauge observations were obtained in North Asia (0.373, <i>p</i> < 0.05) and Europe (0.308, <i>p</i> < 0.05), respectively. IMERG data could capture the bimodal structure of diurnal precipitation in South Asia but overestimates a small variation in North Asia. The disparity was attributed to the frequency overestimation but intensity underestimation in satellite inversion, since small raindrops may evaporate before arriving at the ground but can be identified by remote sensors. IMERG data also showed similar patterns of interannual precipitation variability to gauge observation, while overestimating the proportion of annual precipitation hours by 2.5% in North America, and 2.0% in North Asia. These findings deepen our understanding of the capabilities of the IMERG product to estimate precipitation at the hourly scale, and can be further applied to improve satellite precipitation retrieval.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4334IMERGspatial patternerror analysisdiurnal variationinterannual variability
spellingShingle Pengfei Lv
Guocan Wu
The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere
Remote Sensing
IMERG
spatial pattern
error analysis
diurnal variation
interannual variability
title The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere
title_full The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere
title_fullStr The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere
title_full_unstemmed The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere
title_short The Performance of GPM IMERG Product Validated on Hourly Observations over Land Areas of Northern Hemisphere
title_sort performance of gpm imerg product validated on hourly observations over land areas of northern hemisphere
topic IMERG
spatial pattern
error analysis
diurnal variation
interannual variability
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4334
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