Evaluation of real-time satellite rainfall products in semi-arid/arid Australia

Abstract

The quality of runoff/streamflow modelling is critically dependent on the quality of rainfall forcing data and a quantitative understanding of its uncertainty. More accurate rainfall data with clearly defined uncertainty has implications for water resource management and flood prediction. This is important for the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) in central Australia where the landscape is very flat and hydrophobic soils are common. The LEB is also of interest in terms of climate given that it is predominantly semi-arid/arid with a large north-south rainfall gradient. The north is subject to intense tropical (summer-time) based rainfall events, with weaker predominantly winter rainfall occurring in the..