Generation of Combined Daily Satellite-Based Precipitation Products over Bolivia

Abstract

This study proposes using Satellite-Based Precipitation (SBP) products and local rain gauge data to generate information on the daily precipitation product over Bolivia. The selected SBP products used were the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation Gauge, v6 (GSMaP_Gauge v6) and the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitations with Stations (CHIRPS). The Gridded Meteorological Ensemble Tool (GMET) is a generated precipitation product that was used as a control for the newly generated products. The correlation coefficients for raw data from SBP products were found to be between 0.58 and 0.60 when using a daily temporal scale. The applied methodology iterates correction factors for each sub-basin, taking advantage of surface measurements from the national rain gauge network. Five iterations showed stability in the convergence of data values. The generated daily products showed correlation coefficients between 0.87 and 0.98 when using rain gauge data as a control, while GMET showed correlation coefficients of around 0.89 and 0.95. The best results were found in the Altiplano and La Plata sub-basins. The database generated in this study can be used for several daily hydrological applications for Bolivia, including storm analysis and extreme event analysis. Finally, a case study in the Rocha River basin was carried out using the daily generated precipitation product. This was used to force a hydrological model to establish the outcome of simulated daily river discharge. Finally, we recommend the usage of these daily generated precipitation products for a wide spectrum of hydrological applications, using different models to support decision-making.