SSM/I-derived global rainfall statistics and their application in surface hydrology modelling

A new global 2.5° monthly rainfall statistics dataset has recently been produced by the NOAA/NESDIS/Office of Research and Applications. This dataset is based on the SSM/I rainfall algorithms and covers the period from July 1987 to the most recent month. It includes the following parameters: monthly rain estimates, sampling and algorithm errors associated with the monthly rain estimates, variance and auto-correlation at 4-h and 8-h lag times of instantaneous rain rate, frequency of rain, fractional coverage of rain, and the number of available samples. This dataset provides, on the global scale, more detailed information about rainfall beyond simple monthly rainfall amount, and will be useful to the hydrology and climatology communities. The utilization of this dataset is demonstrated through a simulation of the effects of the fractional coverage of rainfall on evapotranspiration.