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Applicability evaluation and error analysis of TMPA and IMERG in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

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Abstract

Precipitation data accuracy is a critical element of global meteorological observations. The applicability of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) and the latest Global Precipitation Measurement Program (GPM) Multi-Satellite Retrieval (IMERG) Precipitation Analysis Product (SBPP) was assessed using precipitation data from ground observations in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The effects of precipitation intensity, season and topography on the accuracy of precipitation estimation were analyzed. At the daily scale, the SBPP could be used to estimate precipitation over a wide range of scales. The results showed that the TMPA daily precipitation product correlation (CC = 0.51) and precipitation capture (probability of detection (POD) = 0.545) were slightly less capable under the influence of complex topography and uneven precipitation, but IMERG (CC = 0.71; POD = 0.762) greatly improved the detection of precipitation, and the IMERG (mean RB = 9%) algorithm mitigated the TMPA (mean RB = 14%) overestimation. The correlation between TMPA (CC = 0.91) and IMERG (CC = 0.93) monthly products was significant. Overall, IMERG detected precipitation and monsoonal precipitation more accurately than TMPA in complex topographic landscapes and provided reliable precipitation estimates for future hydrometeorological studies in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. However, the high-intensity precipitation hit rate was low, and further error correction is required for extreme precipitation applications.

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Data availability

The TMPA and IMERG data are obtained from https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/. The rain gauge data is from the China Meteorological Data Network (http://data.cma.cn).

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Acknowledgements

In this section, the authors appreciate the China Meteorological Data Service Center and NASA for providing rain gauge data and satellite precipitation product, respectively.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2021YFC3201203), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51869014), Major Science and Technology Projects of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant Nos. 2020ZD0009 and ZDZX2018054), and Open Project Program of the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resources Use of the Mongolian Plateau (Grant No. KF2020006). We thank our colleagues at the Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of River and Lake Ecology for their help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of River and Lake Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, China

    Zheng Ge, Ruihong Yu, Penghang Zhu, Yanling Hao, Yuan Li, Xinyu Liu, Zhuangzhuang Zhang & Xiaohui Ren

  2. Key Laboratory of Mongolian Plateau Ecology and Resource Utilization, Ministry of Education, Hohhot, 010021, China

    Ruihong Yu

  3. Autonomous Region Collaborative Innovation Center for Integrated Management of Water Resources and Water Environment in the Inner Mongolia Reaches of the Yellow River, Hohhot, 010018, China

    Ruihong Yu

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  1. Zheng Ge
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Contributions

Ruihong Yu designed this study. Zheng Ge, Penghang Zhu, and Yuan Li performed the data analysis and visualization. Zhuangzhuang Zhang, Xinyu Liu, and Xiaohui Ren provided guidance during investigation of the research work. All authors discussed the results. Zheng Ge wrote the initial draft. Ruihong Yu, and Yanling Hao reviewed and corrected the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ruihong Yu.

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Ge, Z., Yu, R., Zhu, P. et al. Applicability evaluation and error analysis of TMPA and IMERG in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Theor Appl Climatol 151, 1449–1467 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-022-04325-9

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