Estimation of TRMM rainfall for landslide occurrences based on rainfall threshold analysis

Abstract

Landslide can be triggered by intense or prolonged rainfall. Precipitation data obtained from ground-based observation is very accurate and commonly used to do analysis and landslide prediction. However, this approach is costly with its own limitation due to lack of density of ground station, especially in mountain area. As an alternative, satellite derived rainfall techniques have become more favorable to overcome these limitations. Moreover, the satellite derived rainfall estimation needs to be validated on its accuracy and its capability to predict landslide which presumably triggered by rainfall. This paper presents the investigation of using the TRMM-3B42V7 data in comparison to the available rain-gauge data in Ulu Kelang, Selangor. The monthly average rainfall, cumulative rainfall and rainfall threshold analysis from 1998 to 2011 is compared using quantitative statistical criteria (Pearson correlation, bias, root mean square error, mean different and mean). The results from analysis showed that there is a significant and strong positive correlation between the TRMM 3B42V7 and rain gauge data. The threshold derivative from the satellite products is lower than the rain gauge measurement. The findings indicated that the proposed method can be applied using TRMM satellite estimates products to derive rainfall threshold for the possible landslide occurrence.