Assessment of the consistency among global precipitation products over the United Arab Emirates

Study region United Arab Emirates. Study focus Numerous global precipitation products have been developed and calibrated. However, their performance over arid regions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been revealing notable differences triggered by a combination of climatic and terrestrial attributes. The objective of this study is to cross-validate and analyze the consistency of four global precipitation products from the GPCC, TRMM, WM, and CMORPH datasets over the UAE using a network of 53 rain gauges from 2000 to 2010. The spatial analysis of their consistency versus topography and land cover is expected to reveal the factors affecting the country's rainfall regime. The study also identifies and calibrates the best statistically performing precipitation product as an essential climatic input for monitoring, forecasting, and modeling hydrologic applications over the UAE. New hydrological insights for the region The UAE, similar to other dryland environments lacking adequate hydrologic monitoring networks, presents a unique area to evaluate satellite remote sensing products and the erratic spatiotemporal nature of precipitation in diverse environments. Statistical analyses indicate that the TMPA V7 precipitation products record the highest overall agreement with the observational network. Within the UAE, areas that receive high rainfall and fall within the vegetated highlands (e.g., >250 m), provide the most promise for incorporating satellite precipitation into hydrologic monitoring, modeling, or water resource management.