Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2006NM38B

A Physically-based Parsimonious Approach for Spatial Disaggregation and Recovery of NEXRAD Precipitation Data in Mountainous Terrains (Wilson)

Institute: New Mexico
Year Established: 2006 Start Date: 2006-03-01 End Date: 2008-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $30,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $14,130

Principal Investigators: John Wilson, John Wilson

Project Summary: Mountain rains are a major source of fresh water in New Mexico. Characterizing the spatial variability of precipitation is critical for understanding and predicting both natural and human-influenced hydrologic responses, like recharge, runoff, and reservoir releases. NEXRAD radar is used to provide continuous temporal and spatial precipitation data. This study provides a statistical approach to improve the quality of NEXRAD estimation, which will be valuable to water resources managers, water regulators, planners, and decision makers like the Office of the State Engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission.