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PPDIST

Precipitation Probability DISTribution

Merging gauge obser­va­tions, satellite retrievals, and reanalysis outputs into one compre­hensive global precip­i­tation proba­bility dataset. 

Overview

The Precipitation Probability DISTribution (PPDIST) dataset represents a collection of global high-resolution (0.1°) observation-based climatologies (1979–2018) of the occurrence and peak intensity of precipitation at daily and 3‑hourly time scales.

The clima­tologies were produced using neural network ensembles and take advantage of the strengths of all three main precip­i­tation data sources — satel­lites, reanalyses, and gauges — to obtain reliable estimates for the entire globe. For more infor­mation, see the following open-access paper:

Beck, H. E., Westra, S., Tan, J., Pappen­berger, F., Huffman, G. J., McVicar, T. R., Gründemann, G. J., Vergopolan, N., Fowler, H. J., Lewis, E., Verbist, K., and Wood, E. F, 2020. PPDIST, global 0.1° daily and 3‑hourly precip­i­tation proba­bility distri­b­ution clima­tologies for 1979–2018, Scien­tific Data 7, 302. 

Observed versus estimated patterns

Use the slider to compare the obser­va­tions compare to the neural network model estimates and see the model fills the gaps. 
Daily >0.5 mm precip­i­tation occur­rence (% of time) 

Data access

Freely use, adapt, and share these maps under CC BY 4.0, with attribution to Beck et al. (2020).

The latest version of the PPDIST dataset can be downloaded here. The data are provided under the Creative Commons Attri­bution 4.0 Inter­na­tional (CC BY 4.0) license, allowing you to freely use, adapt, and share the maps for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. You must, however, properly attribute the source by citing Beck et al. (2020) in any publi­cation that uses the maps. 
Beck, H. E., Westra, S., Tan, J., Pappen­berger, F., Huffman, G. J., McVicar, T. R., Gründemann, G. J., Vergopolan, N., Fowler, H. J., Lewis, E., Verbist, K., and Wood, E. F, 2020. PPDIST, global 0.1° daily and 3‑hourly precip­i­tation proba­bility distri­b­ution clima­tologies for 1979–2018, Scien­tific Data 7, 302. 
If the dataset forms a key component of your research, we kindly ask that you contact us and provide us the oppor­tunity to provide feedback on your results prior to publication,