Advanced Remote Sensing, 2nd Edition

Chapter 16

Precipitation

Abstract

Precipitation is a fundamental component of the global water cycle and a key hydrologic variable of the water cycle for meteorology, climatology, and hydrology. Accurate observations of precipitation and its regional and global distributions have long been scientific challenges. The satellite retrieval of precipitation has matured over four decades of development. This chapter briefly introduces surface measurement techniques, the principles of precipitation retrieval from spaceborne sensors, major satellite-based precipitation datasets, and global precipitation climatology. Section 16.2 first introduces surface measurement techniques, including gauge- and radar-based networks. Section 16.3 describes ...