Multiple satellite-based earth observations and traditional station data along with the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model were employed to enhance the Lower Mekong River Basin region hydrological decision support system. A nearest neighbor approximation methodology was introduced to fill the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) grid points during 2001 to 2014 with the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) data points for a continuous precipitation forcing for our hydrologic decision support system. A software tool for accessing and formatting satellite-based earth observation systems of precipitation, and minimum and maximum air temperatures was developed and presented. Our results suggest that simulated SWAT model streamflow utilizing TRMM and IMERG forcing data was able to capture the variability of observed streamflow patterns in the Lower Mekong better than model simulated streamflow with in-situ precipitation station data. We also presented satellite-based and in-situ precipitation adjustment maps that can serve to correct precipitation data when used in the Lower Mekong region for other applications. The inconsistency, scarcity, poor spatial representation, as well as difficult access and incompleteness of the available in-situ precipitation data in the Mekong region make it imperative to adopt satellite-based earth observations to pursue hydrologic modeling.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
