The SASSCAL Rainfall App ( https://rain.sasscal.org/) was launched a year ago. The Rain App is, strictly speaking, no App at all but rather a device-independent data entry web-based platform that the volunteer user can access and use without having to install anything. In other words, to enter and share your rainfall data, you can use either your phone, your pad or your computer to access the website and to set up your account.
The App aims at drawing on the enthusiasm of the people in this region with regard to rainfall and in particular of those who record rainfall data, and thereby filling huge data gaps in the region.
Many exciting plans are still in the pipeline for the App, including the addition of an active feedback mechanism for the user that puts their recorded rainfall data into context. The App will send reminders to all subscribed users, indicating when the G-Wadi satellite-based rainfall product detected precipitation for their given location for the past day, and the subscriber has not added any data for that day.
Take the example of the rainfall recorded on the property SYLVIA_HOME for 24 January 2017, which was 2 mm. The rainfall detected by the G-Wadi satellite-based rainfall product was 10 mm. Even if the rainfall amount does not coincide with the actual rainfall, the G-Wadi product at the very least indicates that there was the probability of rain at the said location.
Applications such as the G-Wadi rainfall product help us fill the gaps where we simply have no rain gauge data. This is particularly relevant in a region of large unpopulated and inaccessible areas. These products are calibrated with available rain gauge data. As more data comes available that reflects the on-the-ground situation, these products can be improved and enhanced. Hence, the more users contribute their data, the more accurate we can make satellite-based rainfall products.
Therefore, you can make a valuable contribution to our understanding and baseline knowledge of rainfall data by entering your data into our SASSCAL Rainfall App:
https://rain.sasscal.org/
Rainfall observed at SYLVIA_HOME was 2 mm, yet the satellite-based rainfall product suggests a rainfall of 10 mm.
The actual rainfall recorded in the rain gauge at SYLVIA_HOME for January 2017. The data entry form is very user friendly and long periods of historical data could be easily updated in this form.
The user can look at graphs of the rainfall they have entered. Here the graph shows the January 2017 rainfall at SYLVIA_HOME.
(Photo credit Leonhard Andreas)
