Research articles
ScienceAsia 35 (2009): 268-275 |doi:
10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2009.35.268
Areal rainfall estimation using spatial interpolation techniques
Wisuwat Taesombat, Nutchanart Sriwongsitanon*
ABSTRACT: Accuracy in runoff and flood estimation is important for mitigating water related problems. The accuracy depends on the methods used for areal rainfall approximation. The thin plate spline (TPS) technique was introduced in this study for daily areal rainfall approximation in the Upper Ping river basin and was compared with the areal rainfall estimated from two conventional techniques, the isohyetal and Thiessen polygon techniques. Two data sets of maximum rainfall registered in August 2001 and September 2003 at 68 non-automatic rainfall stations located in the basin and nearby areas were used in the analysis. The TPS technique was carried out in conjunction with two separate sources of digital elevation model (DEM), namely, GLOBE-DEM and SRTM-DEM, which were downloaded from the NOAA and NASA websites and have horizontal resolutions of 1 km and 90 m, respectively. The TPS technique proved to provide more accurate results of rainfall estimation than the other two techniques. The coarser DEM resolution (GLOBE-DEM) performed marginally better in rainfall estimation than the finer DEM resolution (SRTM-DEM).
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| Department of Water Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand |
* Corresponding author, E-mail: fengnns@ku.ac.th
Received 13 Jun 2008, Accepted 1 Sep 2009
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