Evaluation of GPM Day-1 IMERG and TMPA Version-7 legacy products over Mainland China at multiple spatiotemporal scales

- The study is among the earliest evaluation and comparison of IMERG and 3B42V7.
- Evaluations were conducted at multiple spatiotemporal scales.
- IMERG outperforms 3B42V7 over Mainland China in most cases.
- Results reveal error characteristics of IMERG and 3B42V7 products.

SummaryThe post-real time product of Day-1 Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) is evaluated over Mainland China from April to December 2014 at the hourly timescale, against data from hourly ground-based observations. In addition, the IMERG product is compared with its predecessor-the Version-7 post-real-time 3B42 (3B42V7) product of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at its original 3-hourly and then daily timescales for the same period. All the products are cross-evaluated at gridded, regional, and national scales. Results show that: (1) the Day-1 IMERG shows appreciably better performance than 3B42V7 at both sub-daily and daily timescales, and all the three spatial scales. The gap between the two products is more significant at the sub-daily resolution; (2) Out of the six sub-regions of China, IMERG especially performs better than 3B42V7 at the mid- and high-latitudes, as well as relatively dry climate regions; (3) IMERG can better reproduce the probability density function (PDF) in terms of precipitation intensity, particularly in the low ranges; and (4) although IMERG better captures the precipitation diurnal variability, both products have room to further improve their capability, particularly in the dry climate and high-latitude regions. This study is among the earliest evaluation and comparison of IMERG and 3B42V7 products, which could be valuable in providing reference for the development of IMERG algorithms, associated global products, and various applications as well.