Comparison of Three Gridded Precipitation Datasets Over the British Columbia Province, Canada

Abstract Submission: Multiple precipitation datasets can be available for hydrologic analysis in a given region. However, each precipitation dataset could have different characteristics, and those differences may affect the hydrologic analysis of the target region. Thus, understanding the characteristics of precipitation datasets in the given region is crucial. This study focused on the British Columbia Province in Canada and compared precipitation datasets from three gridded climate datasets; Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium’s NorthWest North America meteorological dataset (PNWNAmet), Global Precipitation Measurement (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM Version 06), and Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC). These precipitation datasets were compared by daily and monthly scales using the point observation data from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN). For the daily scale comparison of three precipitation datasets, indices on extreme precipitation were computed at four evaluation points in the British Columbia Province. The comparison of those indices showed that PNWNAmet offered more similar results to the GHCN observations than the other two precipitation datasets. For the monthly scale comparison, the precipitation datasets showed different performances depending on the areas within the British Columbia Province. A comparison of spatial averages for monthly precipitation over the British Columbia Province showed that the precipitation datasets showed similar seasonal variations while the PNWNAmet showed the highest precipitation among the three precipitation datasets.

Learning Objectives/Expected Outcome (Optional) :