Randomization method for comparing station and satellite observations of cloud and precipitation

Poster PDF

Description

According to the derivation of the partial differential equations (PDE), a physical quantity in a climate model is defined in a grid box based on the continuum mechanics principles. However, a PDE solution is a function with values on points. The values at points and on grid boxes are linked by continuity properties of the PDE solution. However, when validating the climate models by using gauge and satellite observations, one needs to unify the two data sets. This presentation will describe a randomization method to bridge the two data sets. The method will randomize the gauge location and estimate the expected values of the gauge observation’s sampling error. Application examples for precipitation using TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite precipitation data, SGP (Southern Great Plains) cloud data, and CAM5 (Community Atmospheric Model) output will be presented.