Precipitation products from the Hydrology SAF

The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility onSupport to Operational Hydrology and Water Management(H-SAF) was established by the EUMETSAT Council on3 July 2005, starting activity on 1 September 2005. The ItalianMeteorological Service serves as Leading Entity on behalfof twelve European member countries. H-SAF productsinclude precipitation, soil moisture and snow parameters.Some products are based only on satellite observations,while other products are based on the assimilation of satellitemeasurements/products into numerical models. In additionto product development and generation, H-SAF includesa product validation program and a hydrological validationprogram that are coordinated, respectively, by the Italian Departmentof Civil Protection and by the Polish Institute ofMeteorology and Water Management. The National Centerof Aeronautical Meteorology and Climatology (CNMCA) ofthe Italian Air Force is responsible for operational productgeneration and dissemination.In this paper we describe the H-SAF precipitation algorithmsand products, which have been developed by the ItalianInstitute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (in collaborationwith the international community) and by CNMCAduring the Development Phase (DP, 2005-2010) and thefirst Continuous Development and Operations Phase (CDOP-1, 2010-2012). The precipitation products are based onpassive microwave measurements obtained from radiometersonboard different sun-synchronous low-Earth-orbitingsatellites (especially, the SSM/I and SSMIS radiometersonboard DMSP satellites and the AMSU-A + AMSUB/MHS radiometer suites onboard EPS-MetOp and NOAAPOESsatellites), as well as on combined infrared/passivemicrowave measurements in which the passive microwaveprecipitation estimates are used in conjunction with SEVIRIimages from the geostationary MSG satellite. Moreover, theH-SAF product generation and dissemination chain and independentproduct validation activities are described. Also,the H-SAF program and its associated activities that currentlyare being carried out or are planned to be performedwithin the second CDOP phase (CDOP-2, 2012-2017) arepresented in some detail. Insofar as CDOP-2 is concerned,it is emphasized that all algorithms and processing schemeswill be improved and enhanced so as to extend them to satellitesthat will be operational within this decade - particularlythe geostationary Meteosat Third Generation satellites andthe low-Earth-orbiting Core Observatory of the internationalGlobal Precipitation Measurement mission. Finally, the roleof H-SAF within the international science and operationscommunity is explained.