Evaluating Precipitation Datasets
About the Tutorials
This set of tutorials were developed around the question of "Which precipitation dataset should we use for our task?". We started dig into this question by seeing the differences in the datasets across a basin ( Plotting Climatologies Tutorial). That allowed us to visualize the differences in values between datasets and see which datasets matched other data sources the best. Next, we realized we wanted to not just compare the datasets across a basin, but also compare them against station data (Plot Station Precipitation Data vs. Gridded Precipitation Data). Through that analysis we found that the stations location within the gridded dataset pixel influenced how well it tracked the station data. Finally, we found it would be useful to also understand how precipitation values vary across datasets as elevation changes (Precipitation Elevation Analysis).
Plotting Climatologies
This tutorial walks you through requesting annual precipitation totals for various datasets for select basins in Nevada, calculating climatologies for four different time periods from them, and plotting them for comparison. Datasets included in the notebook: ACIS NRCC NN, CHIRPS, Daymet, gridMET, NClimGrid, NLDAS, PRISM, TerraClimate. Figures are saved to the notebook 'Files' section and are available for download. You will need to update the script with your API Key to run the notebook. You can make your own copy of the notebook by clicking 'File' and then 'Save Copy in Drive'. *Note: Some basins with large number of vertices may not run.*
Access the python tutorial notebook here.
Access associated shapefile here.
Plot Station Precipitation Data vs. Gridded Precipitation Data
This tutorial walks you through requesting USGS station precipitation data, requesting gridded precipitation data for the same locations, processing the values, and plotting cumulative values through time. Figures are saved to the notebook 'Files' section and are available for download. You will need to update the script with your API Key to run the notebook. You can make your own copy of the notebook by clicking 'File' and then 'Save Copy in Drive'.
Access the python tutorial notebook here.
Precipitation Elevation Analysis
This tutorial walks you through exporting climatology geotiffs, summarizing climatology values by elevation band, and plotting values for interpretation. Figures are saved to the notebook 'Files' section and are available for download. You will need to update the script with your API Key and google cloud storage bucket name to run the notebook. You can make your own copy of the notebook by clicking 'File' and then 'Save Copy in Drive'.
Access the python tutorial notebook here.
