Mapping the Daily Rainfall over an Ungauged Tropical Micro-Watershed: A Downscaling Algorithm Using GPM Data

In this study, half-hourly Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) satellite precipitation data were downscaled to produce high-resolution daily rainfall data for tropical coastal micro-watersheds (100–1000 ha) without gauges or with rainfall data conflicts. Currently, daily-scale satellite rainfall downscaling techniques rely on rain gauge data as corrective and controlling factors, making them impractical for ungauged watersheds or watersheds with rainfall data conflicts. Therefore, we used high-resolution local orographic and vertical velocity data as proxies to downscale half-hourly GPM precipitation data (0.1°) to high-resolution daily rainfall data (0.02°). The overall quality of the downscaled product was similar to or better than the quality of the raw GPM data. The downscaled rainfall dataset improved the accuracy of rainfall estimates on the ground, with lower error relative to measured rain gauge data. The average error was reduced from 41 to 27 mm/d and from 16 to 12 mm/d during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. Estimates of localized rainfall patterns were improved from 38% to 73%. The results of this study will be useful for production of high-resolution satellite precipitation data in ungauged tropical micro-watersheds.