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Precipitation Characteristics in West and East Africa from Satellite and in Situ ObservationsUsing in situ data, three precipitation classes are identified for rainy seasons of West and East Africa: weak convective rainfall (WCR), strong convective rainfall (SCR), and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs).Nearly 75% of the total seasonal precipitation is produced by the SCR and MCSs, even though they represent only 8% of the rain events. Rain events in East Africa tend to have a longer duration and lower intensity than in West Africa, reflecting different characteristics of the SCR and MCS events in these two regions. Surface heating seems to be the primary convection trigger for the SCR, particularly in East Africa, whereas the WCR requires a dynamical trigger such as low-level convergence. The data are used to evaluate the performance of the recently launched Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG)project. The IMERG-based precipitation shows significant improvement over its predecessor, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), particularly in capturing the MCSs, due to its improved temporal resolution.
Document ID
20170007356
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Dezfuli, Amin K.
(Universities Space Research Association Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Ichoku, Charles M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Mohr, Karen I.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Huffman, George J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Date Acquired
August 3, 2017
Publication Date
June 21, 2017
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Hydrometeorology
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Volume: 18
Issue: 6
ISSN: 1525-755X
e-ISSN: 1525-7541
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN44844
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNH15CO48B
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNH12ZDA001N-IDS
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
West and East Africa
Precipitation

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