NASA GES DISC Satellite-based Precipitation Products and Services over the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau is known as the Third Pole or the water tower of Asia that provides water from glaciers and snow melt to ~210 million people and their daily activities. Precipitation is a critical variable in the regional hydrological research and applications. It is well known that precipitation is notoriously difficult to measure, especially in remote regions with complex terrains, different surface types, sparse ground observations and mixed precipitation such as the Tibetan Plateau.  In this presentation, we will present the latest satellite-based precipitation products at the NASA GES DISC for research and applications in this region, including precipitation products from NASA-JAXA TRMM, GPM, MERRA and GLDAS projects, along with examples to characterize precipitation and its uncertainty over the Tibetan Plateau.  To facilitate data access and scientific exploration, the GES DISC has developed data services including the popular online visualization and analysis tool, GIOVANNI. We will present examples of using GIOVANNI (http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov/) in the Tibetan Plateau.