Comparison and validation of eight satellite rainfall products over the rugged topography of Tekeze-Atbara Basin at different spatial and temporal scales

Abstract. Satellite rainfall products are considered important options for acquiring rainfall estimates in the absence of ground measurements. However, estimates from these products need to be validated as their accuracy can be affected by geographical position, topography, and climate, as well as by the algorithms used to derive rainfall from satellite measurements. Eight satellite-based rainfall products (TRMM, CHIRPS, RFEv2, ARC2, PERSIANN, GPCP, CMAP and CMORPH) were evaluated against ground observations over the complex topography of the upper Tekeze-Atbara basin in Ethiopia. The performance was evaluated at various temporal (daily, monthly, seasonal) and spatial (point, sub-basin, basin) scales over the period 2002–2015. Results show that CHIRPS, TRMM, and RFEv2 performed well and were able to capture the rainfall measured by rain gauges. The BIAS and correlation of these products were within ±25 % and > 0.5 over different time steps. The remaining products poorly performed at daily time step with higher BIAS (up to ±200 %) and lower correlation (