NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Sampling errors for satellite-derived tropical rainfall - Monte Carlo study using a space-time stochastic modelEstimates of monthly average rainfall based on satellite observations from a low earth orbit will differ from the true monthly average because the satellite observes a given area only intermittently. This sampling error inherent in satellite monitoring of rainfall would occur even if the satellite instruments could measure rainfall perfectly. The size of this error is estimated for a satellite system being studied at NASA, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). First, the statistical description of rainfall on scales from 1 to 1000 km is examined in detail, based on rainfall data from the Global Atmospheric Research Project Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE). A TRMM-like satellite is flown over a two-dimensional time-evolving simulation of rainfall using a stochastic model with statistics tuned to agree with GATE statistics. The distribution of sampling errors found from many months of simulated observations is found to be nearly normal, even though the distribution of area-averaged rainfall is far from normal. For a range of orbits likely to be employed in TRMM, sampling error is found to be less than 10 percent of the mean for rainfall averaged over a 500 x 500 sq km area.
Document ID
19900039520
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Bell, Thomas L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Abdullah, A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Martin, Russell L.
(Applied Research Corp. Landover, MD, United States)
North, Gerald R.
(Texas A & M University College Station, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
February 28, 1990
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 95
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Accession Number
90A26575
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available