Researchers have proven that satellite data can assist in monitoring rainfall in the Mekong River Basin, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced Monday.

The researchers evaluated the reliability of existing precipitation, or rainfall data, from both high-resolution satellite and reanalysis data, with a ground observations-based gridded precipitation dataset as the reference.

Results showed that most of the data was able to capture the major climatological characteristics of rainfall in the Mekong River Basin for the 10-year study period from 1998 to 2007.

The satellite data showed high reliability at both spatial and time scales across the basin.

Accurate data of rainfall is fundamental for hydroclimatology. It is important to monitor the changes along the Mekong River Basin since it has a large population and large-scale fisheries industry.

The Mekong River Basin currently lacks ground monitoring facilities. The findings have practical implications for future hydroclimatological studies.