Performance analysis of TRMM satellite in precipitation estimation for the Itapemirim River basin, Espirito Santo state, Brazil

Rainfall monitoring by using conventional rain gauges usually presents problems related to low pluviometric station densities, failures in historical series, difficult access to the precipitation station sites, and lack of people for operating equipment. In this context, remote sensing precipitation evaluation represents a useful alternative for rainfall characterization and precipitation volume determination. The present work analyzes the estimates of rainfall total values and indications of numbers of rainfall occurrence days by using data collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite for the Itapemirim River basin (Espirito Santo, Brazil). There were considered historical series corresponding to twenty (20) pluviometric stations and precipitation data produced by TRMM satellite (product 3B42, version 7) monitoring for a 25-km space network, for the period between 1998 and 2015. It is concluded that the values estimated for precipitation totals and rainfall occurrences for the study area are consistent, indicating that TRMM satellite monitoring may be an adequate alternative for the evaluation of precipitation characteristics in the Itapemirim basin and in other basins that present low rainfall monitoring station densities.