Comparing TRMM Rainfall Retrieval With NOAA Buoy Rain Gauge Data

摘要

This study compares rain rate measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite to rain rate measurements from rain gauges on open-ocean buoys. The rain gauges are part of the instrument package on the Next Generation Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System (ATLAS) buoys in the Tropical Atmosphere-Ocean/Triangle Trans-Ocean Buoy Network (TAO/TRITON) array in the tropical Pacific. The rain rate data from TRMM and 25 buoys are collected from January of 1998 to December of 2001. TRMM's 3G68 product provides instantaneous rain rate data averaged over 0.50 x 0.50 latitude-longitude grid boxes for the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), Precipitation Radar (PR), and a combined algorithm (COMB). The buoy's rain rate data are averaged over and reported in 10-minute intervals. Buoy data are compared to 1.00 x 1.00 TRMM area-averaged values centered on each of the 25 buoy locations. The 1.00 x 1.00 boxes are composed of four 0.50 x 0.50 3G68 grid boxes.