Assessing the Effect of Rain Gauge Density on Merging Radar and Rain Gauges

• Rafael Ignacio Navas Nuñez Departamento del Agua, Centro Universitario Regional Norte, Universidad de la Repúplica. Gral Rivera 1350, Salto, 50000, Uruguay https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8559-9523
• Pablo Andrés Gamazo-Rusnac Departamento del Agua, Centro Universitario Regional Norte, Universidad de la Repúplica. Gral Rivera 1350, Salto, 50000, Uruguay https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1991-3822
• Armando Alexis Borrero-Hernandez Departamento del Agua, Centro Universitario Regional Norte, Universidad de la Repúplica. Gral Rivera 1350, Salto, 50000, Uruguay https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0016-6214

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22209/rt.v45n3a02

Keywords: rain gauge density, merging radar and rain gauges, external drift kriging

Abstract

Hydrometeorologists have had to interpolate precipitation recorded on rain gauges to describe precipitation fields. The appearance of new technologies, such as weather radar, has given way to alternative precipitation estimation techniques, which are based on radar-rain gauge fusion. External drift kriging is a fusion method that captures the advantages of both sensors, radar and rain gauges. In this work it is explained how the density of the the rain gauges affects the uncertainty merging radar and rain gauges. Additionally, ordinary kriging was used as a reference method and the possibility of dispensing with the rain gauge when in the presence of weather radar is discussed. The study area was located in the south of France, which has 4 meteorological radars and more than 200 rain gauges. The results of this work suggest that the application of merging radar and rain gauges brings benefits such as less biased and better correlated estimates, in which the rain gauge continues to offer valuable information

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