The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP)—Status, Applications, and Future Plans

er-annual variability will be presented. The Global Precipitation Climatology Project is a component of the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment of the World Climate Research Program. It was formed in 1986 with the goal of providing global monthly mean precipitation estimates on a 2.5 x 2.5 degree grid. The initial target was to prepare a 10 year data set but that was extended to the year 2000 and is expected to be further extended to the year 2005. The precipitation estimates are composed of a blend of satellite and gauge data. The satellite data comprise of infra red geostationary and polar orbiting precipitation estimates, and polar orbiting microwave estimates over land and water. The gauge data represent about 6000 quality controlled synoptic station data. The project is made possible by an international team that is responsible for developing the algorithms, and collecting, processing and archiving the data. This overview will discuss the current suite of products, the development of new products such as daily, 1 x 1 degree global estimates and extensions back to 1979. Also, some applications such as model validation and studies of annual and in