Challenges in Observation-Based Mapping of Daily Precipitation across the Conterminous United States (original) (raw)
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Accurate and complete estimates of precipitation are critical to a wide variety of problems ranging from understanding the water budget to improved monitoring and prediction of climate. Most areas of the globe are not adequately sampled, either by in situ or remote sensing. The conterm inous U.S. is covered by a relatively dense array of in situ (hourly and daily) rain-gauge data. Precipitation over the U.S. can also be estimated using satellite data and radar data that is archived at high temporal and spatial resolution. These resources allow us to focus on improving the quality of the analysis of precipitation in the U.S. over a range of space and time scales.