Inconsistency in rainfall characteristics estimated from records of different rain gauges

The goal of this work is to assess the effect of utilizing different types of tipping bucket rain gauges in investigating rainfall characteristics. A dual tipping bucket (TB) rain gauge station is installed in the upper catchment of Numan basin in Saudi Arabia. The main difference between the two gauges is that the Hydrological Services (HS) gauge is equipped with a siphon tube which reduces undercatchment particularly during heavy rainfall. Records of both gauges for the period 2006 to 2013 are collected, analyzed, and compared, focusing on the characteristics of rainfall events as well as rainfall temporal variability. The HS gauge recorded higher values of total rainfall depth compared to the Texas Electronics (TEMM) gauge. For the individual storms as well as the 5-min rainfall, HS gauge also reported higher mean rainfall depths. Regarding temporal characteristics of reported rainfall, no significant variations are observed between the values of storm duration of the two gauges. The TEMM gauge has the advantage of recoding more storms with depth less than 1 mm. The current study suggests the use of a corrective factor for rainfall record of the TEMM gauge.     

Daily rainfall statistics of TRMM and CMORPH: A case for trans-boundary Gandak River basin

Satellite precipitation products offer an opportunity to evaluate extreme events (flood and drought) for areas where rainfall data are not available or rain gauge stations are sparse. In this study, daily precipitation amount and frequency of TRMM 3B42V.7 and CMORPH products have been validated against daily rain gauge precipitation for the monsoon months (June–September or JJAS) from 2005–2010 in the trans-boundary Gandak River basin. The analysis shows that the both TRMM and CMORPH can detect rain and no-rain events, but they fail to capture the intensity of rainfall.     

The effects of a dry sand layer on groundwater recharge in extremely arid areas: field study in the western Hexi Corridor of northwestern China

Evaporation capacity is an important factor that cannot be ignored when judging whether extreme precipitation events will produce groundwater recharge. The evaporation layer’s role in groundwater recharge was evaluated using a lysimeter simulation experiment in the desert area of Dunhuang, in the western part of the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China’s Gansu Province. The annual precipitation in the study area is extremely low, averaging 38.87 mm during the 60-year study period, and daily pan evaporation amounts to 2,486 mm. Three simulated precipitation regimes (normal, 10 mm; ordinary annual maximum, 21 mm; and extreme, 31 mm) were used in the lysimeter simulation to allow monitoring of water movement and weighing to detect evaporative losses. The differences in soil-water content to a depth of 50 cm in the soil profile significantly affected rainfall infiltration during the initial stages of rainfall events. It was found that the presence of a dry 50-cm-deep sand layer was the key factor for “potential recharge” after the three rainfall events. Daily precipitation events less than 20 mm did not produce groundwater recharge because of the barrier effect created by the dry sand. Infiltration totaled 0.68 mm and penetrated to a depth below 50 cm with 31 mm of rainfall, representing potential recharge equivalent to 1.7 % of the rainfall. This suggests that only extreme precipitation events offer the possibility of recharge of groundwater in this extremely arid area.     

Evaluation of rain gauge network in arid regions using geostatistical approach: case study in northern Oman

A geostatistical approach based on ordinary kriging is presented for the evaluation and the augmentation of an existing rain gauge network. The evaluation is based on estimating the percentage of the area that achieves a targeted level of acceptable accuracy. The variances of kriging estimation erros at un-gauged locations were assumed to be normally distributed. Kriging estimation erros with a probability that equals to or exceeds a given threshold value of acceptance probability were assumed to have satisfactory accuracies. The percentage of the area that achieved the targeted probability of acceptance is delineated and used to judge the overall performance of the existing rain gauge network. A study area in northern Oman located in Sohar governorate is selected as the pilot case. The area has 34 rain gauges and it is characterized by a terrain surface that varies from coastal plain to mountains. For a threshold value of 0.85, and 0.90 of acceptance probability, the existing network achieved area of acceptable probability of 88.71 and 77.72 %, respectively. For a success criterion of 80 %, the existing rain gauge network indicated acceptable performance for acceptance probability threshold of 0.85 and inadequate performance is noticed in the case of probability threshold of 0.90, which necessitated further network augmentation. A sequential algorithm for ranking and prioritization of the existing rain gauges is used to classify the existing rain gauges into base and non-base rain gauges. The base rain gauge network for mean annual rainfall comprised about 29 of the existing rain gauges. The identified non-base rain gauges were sequentially relocated to achieve higher levels of percentage of area with acceptable accuracy. The percentage of area with acceptable accuracy increased from 88.71 % for the original rain gauge network to about 94.51 % for the augmented network by adding four rain gages at probability acceptance threshold of 0.85. It also increased from 77.72 % for the existing network to 90.50 % for the augmented rain gauge network at acceptance threshold of 0.9.     

Analysis of rainfall preceding debris flows on the Smědavská hora Mt., Jizerské hory Mts., Czech Republic

In August 2010, extreme rainfall affected the north of the Czech Republic and caused regional floods and landslides. Three torrential debris flows originated in the Jizerské hory Mts., close to Bílý Potok on the north slope of the Smědavská hora Mt. The rainfall situation which triggered the debris flow was analyzed and compared with the rainfall situation in 1958 when a debris flow occurred in the same area. The rainfall data were obtained from rain gauges of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. Four rain gauges were chosen close to the Smědavská hora Mt. with data of daily amounts from 1983 to 2013 and 10-min intensity or hourly amounts from the specific period. The data from 1958 were available from three different rain gauges (only daily amounts). The data series were not complete so linear regression was applied to interpolate them. A number of analyses were carried out including daily rainfall, 2-day/3-day moving values, antecedent precipitation index (API) of 5/10/30 days, 10-min intensity, and hourly amounts, and the trigger factor of the debris flow in the study area was also investigated. It was determined that for the triggering of debris flows, both high API values as well as high-intensity short-duration rainfall is needed. It was documented that in cases of solely high API indices or high-intensity short-duration rainfalls, no debris flows were initiated.     

基于多类型雨量计的降雨特性分析

为提高对降雨特性的认识,选择常用的6种测雨设备（翻斗式SL3-1、JDZ05、RG-3,称重式Pluvio2,雨滴谱仪Parsivel2和非计数式JQH-1）,成对布设在南京水利科学研究院滁州水文实验基地的同一个实验场地,同步观测了2019年4月1日至8月31日为期5个月的降雨过程。比测分析得到:在中大雨条件下（日雨量≥ 10 mm）,SL3-1和JDZ05测的降雨总量能够满足4%误差控制要求,RG-3、Pluvio2和Parsivel2测的降雨量比JQH-1测值小4%;在小雨条件下（日雨量 < 10 mm）,翻斗式和称重式雨量计的测量值小于JQH-1测值的4%;SL3-1、RG-3、Pluvio2、Parsivel2测得雨强≤ 0.1 mm/min的频率大于75%,雨强≤ 0.2 mm/min条件下的雨量累积比重大于50%;Pluvio2和Parsivel2监测的降雨开始时间比SL3-1分别早0.5 h和2 h以上,而结束时间分别晚0.5 h和2 h以上。比测结果有助于研究人员选择合适的测量设备获取所关注的降雨特性。     

基于多类型雨量计的降雨特性分析

为提高对降雨特性的认识,选择常用的6种测雨设备（翻斗式SL3-1、JDZ05、RG-3,称重式Pluvio2,雨滴谱仪Parsivel2和非计数式JQH-1）,成对布设在南京水利科学研究院滁州水文实验基地的同一个实验场地,同步观测了2019年4月1日至8月31日为期5个月的降雨过程。比测分析得到：在中大雨条件下（日雨量≥ 10 mm）,SL3-1和JDZ05测的降雨总量能够满足4%误差控制要求,RG-3、Pluvio2和Parsivel2测的降雨量比JQH-1测值小4%;在小雨条件下（日雨量<10 mm）,翻斗式和称重式雨量计的测量值小于JQH-1测值的4%;SL3-1、RG-3、Pluvio2、Parsivel2测得雨强≤ 0.1 mm/min的频率大于75%,雨强≤ 0.2 mm/min条件下的雨量累积比重大于50%;Pluvio2和Parsivel2监测的降雨开始时间比SL3-1分别早0.5 h和2 h以上,而结束时间分别晚0.5 h和2 h以上。比测结果有助于研究人员选择合适的测量设备获取所关注的降雨特性。     

三种JDZ型翻斗式雨量计性能比对实验研究

在我国,JDZ系列翻斗式雨量计已广泛用于降雨量的观测。为了掌握JDZ系列雨量计测量降雨的精度和可靠性,以三种JDZ型翻斗式雨量计(JDZ02、JDZ05和JDZ10)为研究对象,基于一套智能化的雨量计率定系统开展室内性能比对实验。结果表明:(1)以小雨强0.4mm·min^-1作为零误差参考雨强,JDZ02在小于2mm·min^-1时的误差在-4%以内,JDZ05在小于4mm·min^-1时的误差在-4%以内,JDZ10在小于6mm·min^-1时的误差在-4%以内。(2)在雨强-总误差的拟合关系中,二次多项式拟合的效果最好,线性拟合的效果次之,幂函数拟合的效果最差,故建议采用雨强-误差的二次多项式关系订正JDZ系列雨量计监测的降雨数据。(3)左右翻斗水量过程线可以精细刻画翻斗内水量动态变化,判断出翻斗式雨量计的翻斗左右平衡性能,并可计算出翻斗式雨量计动态率定过程中的误差变化。     

On the landslide event in 2010 in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Angangueo, Michoacán, Mexico

In February 2010, 19 fatalities and economic damage were caused by a regional landslide episode in the state of Michoacán, México. The municipalities of Angangueo, Ocampo, Tiquicheo de Nicolás Romero, Tuxpan, and Tuzantla were severely damaged, with Angangueo being the most affected. The event involved a series of debris flows, of which four were the most significant; these four caused 16 deaths in addition to considerable damage to roads, electricity, and the water supply system, with indirect consequences in crop production, cattle farming, and tourism. The area affected by these four flows was calculated as 282?km², with an estimated 697,346?m³ of mobilized material. General observations indicated that the initiation sources of the debris flows were on deforested zones. The present research is concentrated on the Angangueo basin, an area situated within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Given the lack of rain gauges in the area of interest, records from neighboring points were used to build a comprehensive overview of the extreme precipitation event that triggered the devastating debris flows. The nearest rain gauge, Laguna del Fresno, situated 21?km to the south, recorded 204?mm of rainfall from 1 to 5 February, equivalent to 30% of the mean annual rainfall. Moreover, during a 24-h period the El Bosque rain gauge recorded 144.5?mm of precipitation, the equivalent of 2,270% of the mean rainfall for the same month (6.36?mm). The occurrence of a hailstorm preceding the rainfall event is notable; conditions in the superficial soil layer would have included an increased pore water pressure. Presumably, before the 2,000-year return period extreme rainfall event, thawing of hail and consequent moisture and/or pore-pressure increase result in decreased frictional strength. This paper presents a spatial analysis of the distribution of these landslides, mainly debris flows, as well as general observations on the triggering mechanism, the strength properties of the materials involved, and the societal impact.     

Bias adjustment of satellite-based precipitation estimation using artificial neural networks-cloud classification system over Saudi Arabia

Precipitation is a key input variable for hydrological and climate studies. Rain gauges can provide reliable precipitation measurements at a point of observations. However, the uncertainty of rain measurements increases when a rain gauge network is sparse. Satellite-based precipitation estimations SPEs appear to be an alternative source of measurements for regions with limited rain gauges. However, the systematic bias from satellite precipitation estimation should be estimated and adjusted. In this study, a method of removing the bias from the precipitation estimation from remotely sensed information using artificial neural networks-cloud classification system (PERSIANN-CCS) over a region where the rain gauge is sparse is investigated. The method consists of monthly empirical quantile mapping of gauge and satellite measurements over several climate zones as well as inverse-weighted distance for the interpolation of gauge measurements. Seven years (2010–2016) of daily precipitation estimation from PERSIANN-CCS was used to test and adjust the bias of estimation over Saudi Arabia. The first 6 years (2010–2015) are used for calibration, while 1 year (2016) is used for validation. The results show that the mean yearly bias is reduced by 90%, and the yearly root mean square error is reduced by 68% during the validation year. The experimental results confirm that the proposed method can effectively adjust the bias of satellite-based precipitation estimations.     

Trends in extreme rainfall over ecologically sensitive Western Ghats and coastal regions of Karnataka: an observational assessment

Rainfall is one of the pivotal climatic variables, which influence spatio-temporal patterns of water availability. In this study, we have attempted to understand the interannual long-term trend analysis of the daily rainfall events of ≥?2.5 mm and rainfall events of extreme threshold, over the Western Ghats and coastal region of Karnataka. High spatial resolution (0.25°?×?0.25°) daily gridded rainfall data set of Indian Meteorological Department was used for this study. Thirty-eight grid points in the study area was selected to analyze the daily precipitation for 113 years (1901–2013). Grid points were divided into two zones: low land (exposed to the sea and low elevated area/coastal region) and high land (interior from the sea and high elevated area/Western Ghats). The indices were selected from the list of climate change indices recommended by ETCCDI and are based on annual rainfall total (RR), yearly 1-day maximum rainfall, consecutive wet days (≥?2.5 mm), Simple Daily Intensity Index (SDII), annual frequency of very heavy rainfall (≥?100 mm), frequency of very heavy rainfall (≥?65–100 mm), moderate rainfall (≥?2.5–65 mm), frequency of medium rainfall (≥?40–65 mm), and frequency of low rainfall (≥?20–40 mm). Mann-Kendall test was applied to the nine rainfall indices, and Theil-Sen estimator perceived the nature and the magnitude of slope in rainfall indices. The results show contrasting trends in the extreme rainfall indices in low land and high land regions. The changes in daily rainfall events in the low land region primarily indicate statistically significant positive trends in the annual total rainfall, yearly 1-day maximum rainfall, SDII, frequency of very heavy rainfall, and heavy rainfall as well as medium rainfall events. Furthermore, the overall annual rainfall strongly correlated with all the rainfall indices in both regions, especially with indices that represent heavy rainfall events which is responsible for the total increase of rainfall.     

Rainfall patterns for shallow landsliding in perialpine Slovenia

This paper presents two types of analysis: an antecedent rainfall analysis based on daily rainfall and an intensity-duration analysis of rainfall events based on hourly data in perialpine Slovenia in the ?kofjelo?ko Cerkljansko hills. For this purpose, eight rainfall events that are known to have caused landslides in the period from 1990 to 2010 were studied. Over the observed period, approximately 400 records of landslides were collected. Rainfall data were obtained from three rain gauges. The daily rainfall from the 30 days before landslide events was investigated based on the type of landslides and their geo-environmental setting, the dates of confirmed landslide activity and different consecutive rainfall periods. The analysis revealed that the rainfall events triggering slope failure can be divided into two groups according to the different antecedent periods. The first group of landslides typically occurred after short-duration rainstorms with high intensity, when the daily rainfall exceeded the antecedent rainfall. The second group comprises the rainfall events with a longer antecedent period of at least 7 days. A comparison of the plotted peak and mean intensities indicates that the rainfall patterns that govern slope failure are similar but do not necessarily reflect the rainfall intensity at the time of shallow landslides in the Dav?a or Poljane areas, where the majority of the landslides occurred. Because of several limitations, the suggested threshold cannot be compared and evaluated with other thresholds.     

Spatially distributed rainfall information and its potential for regional landslide early warning systems

Crucial to most landslide early warning system (EWS) is the precise prediction of rainfall in space and time. Researchers are aware of the importance of the spatial variability of rainfall in landslide studies. Commonly, however, it is neglected by implementing simplified approaches (e.g. representative rain gauges for an entire area). With spatially differentiated rainfall information, real-time comparison with rainfall thresholds or the implementation in process-based approaches might form the basis for improved landslide warnings. This study suggests an automated workflow from the hourly, web-based collection of rain gauge data to the generation of spatially differentiated rainfall predictions based on deterministic and geostatistical methods. With kriging usually being a labour-intensive, manual task, a simplified variogram modelling routine was applied for the automated processing of up-to-date point information data. Validation showed quite satisfactory results, yet it also revealed the drawbacks that are associated with univariate geostatistical interpolation techniques which solely rely on rain gauges (e.g. smoothing of data, difficulties in resolving small-scale, highly intermittent rainfall). In the perspective, the potential use of citizen scientific data is highlighted for the improvement of studies on landslide EWS.     

Analysis of the 1 November 2015 heavy rainfall episode in Algarve by using weather radar and rain gauge data

The trigger for the study presented in this paper was the extreme rain event of 1 November 2015 in Algarve region. The main objective was the analysis and improvement of the precipitation field using a radar–rain gauge merging method. Ordinary kriging with radar-based error correction has been applied to hourly values of precipitation from both sensors. The merging technique allowed keeping the better radar spatial pattern, being the respective estimates corrected by the rain gauges observations. The procedure led to a reduction in the errors of the precipitation estimates, evaluated by cross-validation, when compared to univariate interpolation of rain gauge observation or radar rain product. Finally, some discussion is also added on the problematic of flooding in urban areas, especially those with absent or deficient urban planning.

     

青藏高原北麓河地区降水量观测与对比分析

根据2011年11月至2012年9月通过Thies激光雨滴谱仪、 T-200B雨雪量计和TE525翻斗式雨量筒获取的青藏高原北麓河地区降水量数据, 按3个时间段分别对3种仪器记录的降水量行了对比分析. 结果表明: 激光雨滴谱仪获取的固态降水量与经Jimmy校正公式修正后的T-200B降水量极为接近. 但在测量雨夹雪时, 激光雨滴谱仪对降水类型、 颗粒直径的误判造成了获取的降水量远高于T-200B雨量筒. 而3种仪器获取的液态降水量有很好的一致性. 但是, 当小时降雨量在2 mm以上时, 激光雨滴谱仪获取的降雨量比T-200B和TE525雨量筒小20%左右. 同时, 在风吹雪对激光雨滴谱仪的影响方面做了相关的分析研究, 初步认为风吹雪的颗粒直径主要集中在0.5 mm以下.     

Rainfall analysis for Indian monsoon region using the merged rain gauge observations and satellite estimates: Evaluation of monsoon rainfall features

Objective analysis of daily rainfall at the resolution of 1° grid for the Indian monsoon region has been carried out merging dense land rainfall observations and INSAT derived precipitation estimates. This daily analysis, being based on high dense rain gauge observations was found to be very realistic and able to reproduce detailed features of Indian summer monsoon. The inter-comparison with the observations suggests that the new analysis could distinctly capture characteristic features of the summer monsoon such as north-south oriented belt of heavy rainfall along the Western Ghats with sharp gradient of rainfall between the west coast heavy rain region and the rain shadow region to the east, pockets of heavy rainfall along the location of monsoon trough/low, over the east central parts of the country, over north-east India, along the foothills of Himalayas and over the north Bay of Bengal. When this product was used to assess the quality of other available standard climate products (CMAP and ECMWF reanalysis) at the gird resolution of 2.5°, it was found that the orographic heavy rainfall along Western Ghats of India was poorly identified by them. However, the GPCC analysis (gauge only) at the resolution of 1° grid closely discerns the new analysis. This suggests that there is a need for a higher resolution analysis with adequate rain gauge observations to retain important aspects of the summer monsoon over India. The case studies illustrated show that the daily analysis is able to capture large-scale as well as mesoscale features of monsoon precipitation systems. This study with data of two seasons (2001 and 2003) has shown sufficiently promising results for operational application, particularly for the validation of NWP models.     

Analysis of the 1 November 2015 heavy rainfall episode in Algarve by using weather radar and rain gauge data

The trigger for the study presented in this paper was the extreme rain event of 1 November 2015 in Algarve region. The main objective was the analysis and improvement of the precipitation field using a radar–rain gauge merging method. Ordinary kriging with radar-based error correction has been applied to hourly values of precipitation from both sensors. The merging technique allowed keeping the better radar spatial pattern, being the respective estimates corrected by the rain gauges observations. The procedure led to a reduction in the errors of the precipitation estimates, evaluated by cross-validation, when compared to univariate interpolation of rain gauge observation or radar rain product. Finally, some discussion is also added on the problematic of flooding in urban areas, especially those with absent or deficient urban planning.     

巴丹吉林沙漠腹地降水特征的初步分析

利用巴丹吉林沙漠腹地定位观测的降水数据,结合其外围南缘、东南缘、北缘和西北缘4个气象站同期降水资料,分析了沙漠腹地的降水特征以及高大沙山对降水的影响,比较了沙漠腹地与外围降水量的差异。结果表明,沙漠腹地降水以小雨为主,且一般在1～2 h内结束。沙漠腹地与外围的降水在季节分布上有较好的一致性,观测期间腹地的年降水量少于南缘阿拉善右旗气象站,但明显多于东南缘、北缘和西北缘。沙漠腹地降水的季节变率很大,年降水量往往由某些集中降水日决定,具有高度集中性。腹地的高大沙山对降水有一定影响,沙山顶部年降水量和年降水日数皆略多于丘间地,较长的单次降水过程之持续时间及累积降水量亦有类似特征。强降水事件发生时,沙漠腹地在16.8 km的空间距离上有"斑块"现象。日降水量的相关距离分析显示,夏半年日降水量空间相关性随距离的增大而明显减小;冬半年因多冷锋降水而使其日降水量在约50 km空间尺度上仍有较好的相关性,50 km以外相关性则显著减小。     

考虑有雨无雨辨识的多源降水融合方法

多源降水融合是精准估计降水时空分布的重要途径, 多聚焦降水量或降水强度的误差订正, 对短历时降水雨区辨识的重视不足。提出考虑有雨无雨辨识的多源降水融合框架, 耦合地理加权逻辑回归与地理加权回归模型, 构建兼顾雨区辨识及雨量估计的降水融合方法, 并应用于汉江流域MSWEP V2.1与地面站网观测日降水融合。结果表明: 所提方法成功再现有雨无雨空间格局并刻画了降水中心, 整体强化了MSWEP V2.1对地面降水的表征能力, 降低误报率和误报降水量的幅度超过了60%, 提高临界成功指数和Kling-Gupta效率系数达40%以上; 较降水空间插值数据, 削减误报降水量并提升Kling-Gupta效率系数高于10%;另外, 较参考数据, 降水融合改善强降水事件(雨强≥50 mm/d)分辨精度的增益不低于60%。所提方法有效改善了降水估计效果, 为多源降水融合提供了新思路。     

A probabilistic approach for estimating return period of extreme annual rainfall in different cities of Punjab

Multi-day rainfall events are an important cause of recent severe flooding in Pakistan, and any change in the magnitude of such events may have severe impact upon urban structures such as dams, urban drainage systems, and flood. This article uses statistical distributions to define extremes of annual rainfall of different cities of Punjab (Lahore, Murree, Sialkot, and Jhelum) with given return periods. Our calculations suggest that general extreme value is the best-fitted distribution for the extreme annual rainfall of different cities of Punjab. Our calculations show that different cities of Punjab have 5 years return period for receiving more than 100 mm daily rainfall. While they have 30 years return period for receiving more than 200 mm daily rainfall. This asks for construction of new dams in Pakistan.