Developing a Regional Formulae based on Satellite-Based Precipitation to Estimate Rainfall Intensity in Wadi Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia

Abstract:

Magnitudes, durations, and frequencies of rainfall are essential inputs for the planning and design of infrastructures. The reliability of the outcomes is highly influenced by the quality and the record length of the rainfall observations. When rain gauge observations have insufficient record lengths, Satellite-Based Precipitation is an alternative source which reduce the impact of the systematic bias. This study aims to develop a regional formula that is based in on Satellite-Based Precipitation to determine the rainfall intensity for a design return period in Wadi Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia. The study is divided into three steps: (1) applied the bias-correction approach and tested by a leave-one-out cross-validation approach (2) three frequency methods, Log Pearson III, Gumbel, and Lognormal, are used to generate intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves, and (3) developing the equation and calibrating the parameters of the equation based on the outcomes of the frequency methods. The equation aims to estimate the rainfall intensity for return periods in Wadi Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia. The essential of the study is to develop a regional IDF curves equations for the limitations of rain gauge observations.