An Assessment of Differences in Gridded Precipitation Datasets in Complex Terrain
Title | An Assessment of Differences in Gridded Precipitation Datasets in Complex Terrain |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Conference | 2016 |
Authors | Henn, Brian, Newman Andrew J., Livneh Ben, Daly Christopher, and Lundquist Jessica D. |
Conference Name | 84th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Date Published | 2016 |
Conference Location | Seattle, Washington |
Abstract | Hydrologic modeling and other geophysical applications are sensitive to precipitation forcing data quality, and there are known challenges in spatially distributing gauge-based precipitation over complex terrain. We conduct a comparison of six high-resolution, daily and monthly gridded precipitation datasets over the Western United States. We compare the long-term average spatial patterns, and interannual variability of water-year total precipitation, as well as multi-year trends in precipitation across the datasets. We find that the greatest absolute differences among datasets occur in high-elevation areas and in the maritime mountain ranges of the Western United States, while the greatest percent differences among datasets relative to annual total precipitation occur in arid and rain-shadowed areas. Differences between datasets in some high-elevation areas may exceed 200 mm yr-1 on average, and relative differences range from 5-60% across the Western United States. (KEYWORDS: orographic precipitation, precipitation uncertainty, hydrologic modeling, distributed datasets) |
URL | /files/PDFs/2016Henn.pdf |