The influence of topographical characteristics and rainfall intensity on the accuracy of satellite precipitation estimates is of importance to the adoption of satellite data for hydrological applications. This study evaluates the three GPM IMERG V05B products over the arid country of Saudi Arabia. Statistical indices quantifying the performance of IMERG products were calculated under three evaluation techniques: seasonal-based, topographical, and rainfall intensity-based. Results indicated that IMERG products have the capability to detect seasons with the highest precipitation values (spring) and seasons with the lowest precipitation (summer). Moreover, results showed that IMERG products performed well under various rainfall intensities, particularly under light rain, which is the most common rainfall in arid regions. Furthermore, IMERG products exhibited high detection accuracy over moderate elevations, whereas it had poor performance over coastal and mountainous regions. Overall, the results confirmed that the performance of the final-run product surpassed the near-real-time products in terms of consistency and errors. IMERG products can improve temporal resolution and play a significant role in filling data gaps in poorly gauged regions. However, due to the errors in IMERG products, it is recommended to use sub-daily rain gauge data in satellite calibration for better rainfall estimation over arid and semiarid regions.

Highly accurate and real-time estimation of precipitation over large areas remains a fundamental challenge for the hydrological and meteorological community. This is primarily attributed to the high heterogeneity of precipitation across temporal and spatial scales. Rapid developments in remote sensing technologies have made the quantitative measurement of precipitation by satellite sensors a significant data source. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission makes precipitation data with high temporal and spatial resolutions available to different users. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) V06 (Early, Late, and Final) satellite precipitation products (SPPs) at high latitudes. Ground-based observation data across Finland were used as a reference and compared with IMERG data from 2014 to 2019. Three aspects were evaluated: the spatial coverage of the satellite estimates over Finland; the accuracy of the satellite estimates at various temporal scales (half-hourly, daily, and monthly); and the variation in the performance of SPPs over different spatial regions. The results showed that IMERG SPPs can be used with high confidence over Southern, Eastern, and Western Finland. These SPPs can be used with caution over the region of the historical province of Oulu but are not recommended for higher latitudes over Lapland. In general, the IMERG-Final SPP performed the best, and it is recommended for use because of its low number of errors and high correlation with ground observation. Furthermore, this SPP can be used to complement or substitute ground precipitation measurements in ungauged and poorly gauged regions in Southern Finland.

The quality of household drinking water in a community of 30 houses in a district in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) was assessed over a period of one year (January to November 2015). Standard analytical techniques were used to screen for water quality parameters and contaminants of concern. Water quality was evaluated in the 30 households at four sampling points: kitchen faucet, bathroom faucet, household water tank, and main water pipe. The sampling points were chosen to help identify the source when an elevated level of a particular contaminant is observed. Water quality data was interpreted by utilizing two main techniques: spatial variation analysis and multivariate statistical techniques. Initial analysis showed that many households had As, Cd, and Pb concentrations that were higher than the maximum allowable level set by UAE drinking water standards. In addition, the water main samples had the highest concentration of the heavy metals compared to other sampling points. Health risk assessment results indicated that approximately 30%, 55%, and 15% of the houses studied had a high, moderate, and low risk from the prolonged exposure to heavy metals, respectively. The analysis can help with planning a spatially focused sampling plan to confirm the study findings and set an appropriate course of action.

The influence of topographical features and rainfall intensity on the accuracy of precipitation values estimated by earth observing satellites has attracted attention in the past decade. Assessment of rainfall products delivered by the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals of Global precipitation measurement (IMERG) against ground observations has risen as an important endeavour since the accuracy of these products remain unreliable. This study comprehensively evaluated the three GPM IMERG products (near and post-real-time), over the period March 2014 to June 2018. The evaluation approaches were carried out for different seasons, rainfall intensities, topographical features, and hydrological regions over an extremely arid and semiarid country of Saudi Arabia. In general, the results confirmed that the performance of the final-run product surpassed the near-real-time products in terms of consistency and estimated errors. The evaluation results showed that for seasonal-based evaluation, the precipitation products exhibited better performance in spring and summer, while having relatively lower accuracy and higher biases in fall and winter. In addition, the results showed that the IMERG products had high performance in capturing the various rainfall intensities, with light rain having the highest accuracy. This is particularly important for arid regions as most of the rainfall is of the low-intensity class. Overall, the higher the rainfall intensity, the higher the detection errors in the IMERG products. Moreover, the hydrological evaluation results showed that the hydrological regions with low density of rain gauge stations hinders the proper evaluation of satellite products and tends to underestimate the performance of the products. Furthermore, the accuracy of the precipitation products was affected by topography to different extents. IMERG precipitation products exhibited high detection accuracy over moderate elevation areas (inland regions); whereas it had poor performance over flat plains (coastal regions) and high altitudes (foothills and mountainous regions). The outcomes of this evaluation could help developers in improving the GPM IMERG calibration to achieve better detection accuracy over arid and semiarid regions. More importantly, these results are of interest for local authorities to help manage development activities and to plan precautionary measures for extreme rainfall events.