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This paper introduces the Method of Microwave Rainfall Normalization (MMN) for the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) algorithm in its latest version (V05, algorithm version 8), released in December 2021. The method aims to mitigate the discrepancy of GSMaP rainfall estimates among passive microwave (PMW) imagers/sounders (MWIs/MWSs) due to differences in sensor specifications and retrieval algorithms. The basic idea of the MMN module is to calibrate target PMW sensors with reference sensors (the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI)) using the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the rain rate. Differences between the CDF and normalization table for MWSs are greater than MWIs due to different rain retrieval algorithms. More (less) MWS rainfall is detected over the ocean (land) than GMI rainfall. Matchup rainfall data between GMI and a target PMW sensor are compared to evaluate MMN performance. The monthly mean rainfall and mean bias error were improved for almost all PMW sensors. This study leaves open the possibility for further inter-calibration and improvement of rain detection and heavy rainfall retrievals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliability information of satellite precipitation products is required for various applications. This study describes and evaluates a reliability flag of the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation Near-Real-Time precipitation product (GSMaP_NRT). This flag was developed to characterize the reliability of GSMaP_NRT data simply and qualitatively by considering its algorithm characteristics. The reliability at each pixel is represented by any one of ten levels (10 being the best and 1 the worst) by considering three major factors: 1) "surface type reliability"--which takes into account that estimation of rainfall using passive microwave sensors is better over the oceans than over land and coastal areas; 2) "low-temperature reliability"--which takes into account the lower reliability due to surface snow cover in low-temperature conditions; and 3) "Moving Vector with Kalman Filter (MVK) propagation reliability"--which means that the reliability gets worse with the increase in time since the last overpass of the passive microwave sensor. To evaluate the utility of the reliability flag, statistical indices are calculated for each reliability level using gauge-calibrated ground radar data around Japan. It is found that the reliability flag represents the differences in GSMaP accuracy: the accuracy worsens as the reliability decreases. The GSMaP errors exhibit seasonal changes that are well represented by the ten levels of the reliability flag, indicating that the reliability flag can be used to catch seasonal variations in GSMaP accuracy due to changes in environmental factors. This study also raises the possibility of improving the reliability flag by using information related to heavy orographic rainfall. It is shown how the error features of heavy orographic rainfall differ from those of the total rainfall, and it is suggested that heavy orographic rainfall information can be utilized to further improve the reliability flag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]