Evaluation of high-resolution satellite precipitation products using rain gauge observations over the Tibetan Plateau

High-resolution satellite precipitation products are very attractive for studying the hydrologic processes in mountainous areas where rain gauges are generally sparse. Three high-resolution satellite precipitation products are evaluated using gauge measurements over different climate zones of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) within a 6 yr period from 2004 to 2009. The three satellite-based precipitation datasets are: Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), Climate Prediction Center Morphing Technique (CMOPRH) and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Network (PERSIANN). TMPA and CMORPH, with higher correlation coefficients and lower root mean square errors (RMSEs), show overall better performance than PERSIANN. TMPA has the lowest biases among the three precipitation datasets, which is likely due to the correction process against monthly gauge observations from global precipitation climatology project (GPCP). The three products show better agreement with gauge measurements over humid regions than that over arid regions where correlation coefficients are less than 0.5. Moreover, the three precipitation products generally tend to overestimate light rainfall (0–10 mm) and underestimate moderate and heavy rainfall (>10 mm). PERSIANN produces obvious underestimation at low elevations and overestimation at high elevations. CMORPH and TMPA do not present strong bias-elevation relationships in most regions of TP.