Streamflow simulation in the upper Ganjiang River basin using the TRMM multi-satellite precipitation data

The area controlled by the Xiashan station at the upper Ganjiang River was selected as the study area. Firstly, the tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) 3B42V6 precipitation data set covering the study area was evaluated via the comparisons with the rain-gauged precipitation data. Subsequently, the two precipitation data sets were adopted to drive the grid-based Xin'anjiang model to perform streamflow simulations at the Xiashan station. The results show that although large disagreement exists between TRMM daily precipitation and rain-gauged precipitation data sets, the daily streamflow simulation fed with TRMM daily precipitation data could basically reflect the daily streamflow processes at the Xiashan station. TRMM monthly precipitation was comparatively more accurate, which could be employed to precisely simulate the monthly streamflow simulation at the Xiashan station. Overall, TRMM precipitation data could be potentially adopted for rainfall-runoff process simulations in the Ganjiang River basin. It indicates that TRMM multi-satellite precipitation data sets have a promising prospect in the hydrological forecasting and the estimation of water resources in ungauged basins. TRMM data could also be applied to evaluation and planning of water resources.