Annual total GPI rainfall is characterized by rainfall in
excess of 3 m over the equatorial landmasses, the ITCZ and SPCZ, the
eastern portion of the Indian Ocean. The largest totals, in excess of 4
meters, are found near islands and the Isthmus of Panama.
The GOES precipitation index estimates tropical rainfall using
cloud-top temperature -- see the CPC WWW page.
The GPI rainfall estimates are prepared by Robert Joyce of NOAA NCEP, and
span the latitudes within 40 degrees latitude of the equator north and
south. This version of the GPI has been processed to reduce
longitudinal discontinuities associated with different satellites, and
other corrections have also been applied (Joyce and Arkin, 1997).
Questions concerning the method should be directed to Robert Joyce.
The data:
The data in netCDF format (1.2 Mbytes) (mm day-1). Obtained on 28 October 1996. Maps of "NaN"s are appended to the end of the file so that the file is for complete years.
The same data, but in units of mm
month-1 (netCDF format) (1.2 Mbytes). Obtained on 28 October 1996. Maps of "NaN"s are appended to the end of the file so that the file is for complete years.
All errors in the netCDF file are due to Todd Mitchell.
Monthly values were produced through February 2004, and they can
be obtained at the NCEP anonymous
ftp directory
Climatological fields for 1986-95 in netCDF:
monthly climatology The time variable was
written incorrectly. The first month is January, the second month is
February, and so on.
annual total
References:
Janowiak, J. E., and P. A. Arkin, 1991: Rainfall variations in the tropics during 1986-1989, as estimated from observations of cloud-top temperature. J.Geophys. Res., 96 Suppl., 3359-3373.
Joyce, R., and P. A. Arkin, 1997: Improved
estimates of tropical and subtropical precipitation using the GOES
Precipitation Index. J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 10,
997-1011.
Online documenation.
