Estimating rainfall from the bottom-up: the SM2RAINderived rainfall product
Luca Ciabatta presents an algorithm that retrieves precipitation amounts from soil moisture measurements.
Length: 19 minutes
SM2RAIN is a novel algorithm that allows to estimate rainfall from a different perspective, using the soil as a natural rain gauge. The algorithm has already been applied to several satellite soil moisture products both on a regional and global scale, providing high-quality rainfall data. Moreover, soil moisture-derived rainfall estimates have been found to be complementary to state-of-the-art top-down precipitation products. In this way, the integration of the two different approaches provides a more reliable rainfall product. Within H SAF, the SM2RAIN algorithm has been applied to Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) data obtained through Metop platforms. The SSM-derived rainfall data are then integrated with the Level 3 PMW H67 product. In this way, the integrated product P-AC-SM2RAIN (labeled as H64) can provide daily rainfall estimates with a spatial resolution of 0.25°, over the extended H SAF area (LAT 60°S – 75°N, LON 60°W – 60°E).