Statistical downscaling of monthly precipitation using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for tahtali river basin in Turkey

Statistical downscaling methods describe a statistical relationship between large-scale atmospheric variables such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, etc., and local-scale meteorological variables like precipitation. This study examines the potential predictor variables selected from the National Center for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis data set for downscaling monthly precipitation in Tahtali watershed in Turkey. An approach based on the assessment of all possible regression types was used to select the predictors among the NCEP reanalysis data set, and artificial neural network (ANN)-based downscaling models were designed separately for each station in the basin. The results of the study showed that precipitation, surface and sea level pressures, air temperatures at surface, 850-, 500-, and 200-hPa pressure levels, and geopotential heights at 850- and 200-hPa pressure levels are the most explanatory NCEP/NCAR parameters for the study area. It was concluded that ANN-based downscaling models can be implemented to downscale coarse-scale atmospheric parameters to monthly precipitation at station scale by using the above parameters as inputs in the study area. © 2011 ASCE