APHRODITE: Constructing a Long-Term Daily Gridded Precipitation Dataset for Asia Based on a Dense Network of Rain Gauges

TLDR

APHRODITE provides the only long‑term, continental‑scale, high‑resolution daily precipitation product for Asia. The project aims to support studies of monsoon change, water resources, model verification, satellite estimates, and forecast improvement. It was built by collecting and analyzing rain gauge observations from 5,000–12,000 stations across Asia over more than 57 years, integrating them through APHRODITE, and engaging national institutions and data centers. The dataset improves the depiction of precipitation distribution and variability around the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, and Middle East mountains, and the released APHRO_V1101 and APHRO_JP_V1005 products provide high‑resolution data for monsoon Asia, the Middle East, northern Eurasia, and Japan. User cooperation and feedback are welcomed.

Abstract

A daily gridded precipitation dataset covering a period of more than 57 yr was created by collecting and analyzing rain gauge observation data across Asia through the activities of the Asian Precipitation—Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE) project. APHRODITE's daily gridded precipitation is presently the only long-term, continental-scale, high-resolution daily product. The product is based on data collected at 5,000–12,000 stations, which represent 2.3–4.5 times the data made available through the Global Telecommunication System network and is used for most daily gridded precipitation products. Hence, the APHRODITE project has substantially improved the depiction of the areal distribution and variability of precipitation around the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, and mountainous regions of the Middle East. The APHRODITE project now contributes to studies such as the determination of Asian monsoon precipitation change, evaluation of water resources, verification of high-resolution model simulations and satellite precipitation estimates, and improvement of precipitation forecasts. The APHRODITE project carries out outreach activities with Asian countries, and communicates with national institutions and world data centers. We have released open-access APHRO_V1101 datasets for monsoon Asia, the Middle East, and northern Eurasia (at 0.5° × 0.5° and 0.25° × 0.25° resolution) and the APHRO_JP_V1005 dataset for Japan (at 0.05° × 0.05° resolution; see www.chikyu.ac.jp/precip/ and http://aphrodite.suiri.tsukuba.ac.jp/). We welcome cooperation and feedback from users.