Evaluation of Satellite Based Precipitation Products at Key Basins in Bolivia

This study has evaluated Satellite Based Precipitation (SBP) products at key basins in Bolivia. Three basins of national interest were selected at different ecological steps: highlands, valleys and lowlands. GSMaP and CHIRPS products were tested showing promising detection abilities especially in regions with high elevation. At highlands the correlation coefficients of both SBP products showed values from 0.915 to 0.976. On the other hand, at lowlands, the coefficient values ranged from 0.895 to 0.926. Then, the combined products of GSMaP and CHIRPS with national rain gauge network were obtained using correction factors iteratively at sub-basin scale. The national sub-basins coding system of was used. These combined products so-called GS and CH showed a notorious improvement from 0.996 to 0.999 in relation to raw SBP products. At lowland regions results showed the largest improvement percentage in comparison with the other regions suggesting that higher intensities play a key role for correction scheme. The proposed scheme is feasible to implement with other SBP products and in other regions. The precipitation at sub-basins scale allows performing water balance, hydrological studies, biophysical assessments, water management planning among other applications.