How has Malaysia benefited from the high-resolution satellite rainfall? Trends, gaps and further research opportunities

Abstract

This paper presents a scientific review on how Malaysia has benefited from the high-resolution satellite rainfall since its first launch in 1998. As a tropical country in which the environment is highly characterised by rainfall dynamics, public domain access of high-resolution satellite rainfall data could be very useful to support the hydrologic and related environmental studies. The scope of this paper includes achievements, the trend of studies, as well as gaps and future opportunities for scientific research. Examining this element is crucial in determining the present information on the status quo of the applications of space-based technology to Malaysian hydrologic research. Furthermore, this information is critical to charter the future action for the policymakers and revision of respective disciplines, including climate change, environmental sustainability, disaster resilience, food security, and education. Based on the search throughout the largest scientific databases of Web of Science and Scopus, five major trends have been identified. Those trends were ranked based on the number of research, 1) Satellite rainfall data performance and quality evaluation (40%), 2) Satellite rainfall data as input to environmental modelling (27%), 3) Rain fade & telecommunication (16%), 4) Satellite rainfall data quality improvement (7%), and 5) Rainfall studies. These trends were identified about 11 years after the satellite rainfall project started in 1998. The major achievement till now is validating the accuracy of the satellite rainfall and also downscaling it for local application.