Spatial patterns and temporal trends of precipitation in Iran

Spatial patterns of monthly, seasonal and annual precipitation over Iran and the corresponding long-term trends for the period 1951–2009 are investigated using the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre gridded dataset. Results suggest that the spatial patterns of annual, winter and spring precipitation and the associated coefficients of variation reflect the role of orography and latitudinal extent between central-southern arid and semi-arid regions and northern and western mountainous areas. It is also shown that precipitation occurrence is almost regularly distributed within the year in northern areas while it is more concentrated in a few months in southern Iran. The spatial distribution of Mann–Kendal trend test (Z statistics) for annual precipitation showed downward trend in north-western and south-eastern Iran, whereas western, central and north-eastern exhibited upward trend, though not statistically significant in most regions. Results for winter and autumn revealed upward trend in most parts of the country, with the exception of north-western and south-eastern where a downward trend is observed; in spring and summer, a downward trend seems to prevail in most of Iran. However, for all seasons the areas where the detected trend is statistically significant are limited to a few spot regions. The overall results suggest that the precipitation is decreasing in spring and summer and increasing in autumn and winter in most of Iran, i.e. less precipitation during the warm season with a consequent intensification of seasonality and dryness of the country. However, since the detected trends are often not statistically significant, any stringent conclusion cannot be done on the future tendencies.     

A statistical analysis of the daily precipitation over Serbia: trends and indices

A statistical analysis of the daily maximum and mean monthly precipitation measured at ten meteorological stations in Serbia during the period 1949?C2007 is presented. Although the means of the daily maximum and monthly precipitation varied throughout the year, their ratio was almost uniform, with an average value of 32.6% for Serbia. The precipitation events within each year were ranked and then the trends on the ten wettest days of the year were assessed. Averaged across Serbia, the wettest day of the year produces 41.3?mm of precipitation and accounted for 6.3% of the total annual precipitation. Taken together, 35.5% (232.0?mm) of the total annual precipitation fell during the ten wettest days of the year. Over the course of the twentieth century, the average annual precipitation on the wettest day across Serbia increased by nearly 9%. Also, averaged across Serbia, statistically insignificant increasing trends were found on each of the ten wettest days of the year. Furthermore, four climate indices were analysed. Heavy precipitation indices (i.e., RR20 and R95T) increased in Serbia at the end of the twentieth century and thereafter.     

Spatial and temporal patterns of trends and variability in diurnal temperature ranges of Turkey

Summary Spatial and temporal patterns of trends in the diurnal temperature ranges (DTRs) of the 70 stations and the role of maximum and minimum temperatures on the year-to-year variability and the long-term trends of the DTRs in Turkey have been investigated for the period 1929–1999. The principal results of the study are as follows:(i) The daytime maximum temperatures have shown weak warming and cooling in comparison with significant warming of the night-time minimum temperatures in many regions of Turkey and in most seasons. (ii) The DTRs have significantly decreased at most of the urbanised and rapidly urbanising stations throughout the seasons except partly in winter, without showing an apparent north/south (west–east) and land/sea gradient. (iii) Annual and seasonal DTRs of some stations have shown significant increasing trends. Nevertheless, the spatial distribution of significant increasing trends in the DTR series is geographically incoherent across the country in all seasons and annually, as compared with significantly decreased DTRs. (iv) Autumn and summer DTRs have decreased generally at a higher rate than in winter and spring. (v) Changes in the temperature regime of Turkey towards the more temperate and/or warmer climate conditions are most strongly related with the significant night-time warming in spring and summer. (vi) Magnitudes and signs of correlation coefficients and correlation patterns between the DTRs and the maximum and minimum temperatures have revealed that there is an opposite physical control mechanism on the year-to-year variability and the long-term variations and trends in the DTRs, particularly for the annual, spring and summer series. (vii) Significant increases of the night-time temperatures have most likely led to strong decreasing trends in the DTRs of most stations during the spring and summer seasons and annually and of some stations during winter and autumn. (viii) The asymmetric trends and the symmetric, but with different magnitude, trends in the maximum and minimum temperatures resulted in a significant decrease in the DTRs of many stations and are a considerable signal of ongoing changes in the climatic variability of Turkey.     

Regional trends in recent precipitation indices in China

Summary Regional characteristics of recent precipitation indices in China were analyzed from a daily rainfall dataset based on 494 stations during 1961 to 2000. Some indices such as precipitation percentiles, precipitation intensity, and precipitation persistence were used and their inter-decadal differences were shown in this study. Over the last 40 years, precipitation indices in China showed increasing and decreasing trends separated into three main regions. A decreasing trend of annual precipitation and summer precipitation was observed from the southern part of northeast China to the mid-low Yellow River valley and the upper Yangtze River valley. This region also showed a decreasing trend in precipitation intensity and a decreasing trend in the frequency of persistent wet days. On the other hand, increasing trends in precipitation intensity were found in the Xinjiang region (northwest China), the northern part of northeast China, and southeast China, mainly to the south of the mid-low Yangtze River. The indices of persistent wet days and strong rainfall have contributed to the increasing frequency of floods in southeast China and the Xinjiang region in the last two decades. Persistent dry days and weakening rainfall have resulted in the increasing frequency of drought along the Yellow River valley including North China. Regional precipitation characteristics and trends in precipitation indices indicate the climate state variations in the last four decades. A warm-wet climate state was found in northwest China and in the northern part of northeast China. A warm-dry climate state extends from the southern part of northeast China to the Yellow River valley, while a cool-wet summer was found in southeast China, particularly in the mid-low Yangtze River valley over the last two decades.     

Spatial autocorrelation analysis of extreme precipitation in Iran

Spatial variations in extreme precipitation events make hydrological, climatological, social, environmental and agricultural effects on a country. This study presents the spatiotemporal autocorrelation analysis of extreme precipitation events over Iran using gridded data on daily precipitation for the period 1961–2010. The 95th percentile is considered as extreme precipitation factor. The spatial autocorrelation of extreme precipitation is examined by three commonly used spatial autocorrelation statistics, the G _i statistic index, Moran’s I global index, and Local Moran’s I (LISA) index, at the 95 and 99% significant confidence level. The results showed a strong significant spatial autocorrelation for extreme precipitation events with the highest Moran’s I value in January. The positive significant autocorrelation of extreme precipitation is observed over the southern parts of the Caspian Sea and Zagros Mountains ranges, while the negative significant autocorrelation is observed over the central and eastern parts of country. In spring and summer the positive autocorrelation cores displace from the Zagros Mountains ranges to the northwestern and southeastern parts.     

Spatial and temporal analysis of observed trends in extreme precipitation events in different climatic zones of Nigeria

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The purpose of this study is to assess spatial and temporal changes in extreme precipitation events from 1983 to 2017 over different climatic regions of...     

Spatial and temporal trends of extreme temperature and precipitation in the Daqing River Basin,North China

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - According to the daily maximum and minimum temperature and the precipitation at 40 meteorological stations in the Daqing River Basin of China during...     

Spatial and temporal variations of aridity indices in Iraq

In this paper, a nonhydrostatic Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has been used to simulate the extreme precipitation event of 25 November 2009, over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The model is integrated in three nested (27, 9, and 3 km) domains with the initial and boundary forcing derived from the NCEP reanalysis datasets. As a control experiment, the model integrated for 48 h initiated at 0000 UTC on 24 November 2009. The simulated rainfall in the control experiment depicts in well agreement with Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission rainfall estimates in terms of intensity as well as spatio-temporal distribution. Results indicate that a strong low-level (850 hPa) wind over Jeddah and surrounding regions enhanced the moisture and temperature gradient and created a conditionally unstable atmosphere that favored the development of the mesoscale system. The influences of topography and heat exchange process in the atmosphere were investigated on the development of extreme precipitation event; two sensitivity experiments are carried out: one without topography and another without exchange of surface heating to the atmosphere. The results depict that both surface heating and topography played crucial role in determining the spatial distribution and intensity of the extreme rainfall over Jeddah. The topography favored enhanced uplift motion that further strengthened the low-level jet and hence the rainfall over Jeddah and adjacent areas. On the other hand, the absence of surface heating considerably reduced the simulated rainfall by 30% as compared to the observations.     

柴达木盆地降水的时空分布特征

利用柴达木盆地11个国家气象站(2017年3月—2018年2月)及28个区域气象站(2017年6—8月)月降水量资料,运用线性回归订正法和比值订正法推算柴达木盆地的年降水量,进一步分析柴达木盆地降水量季节变化及空间分布特征。结果表明:(1)柴达木盆地降水量年内分配极不均匀,呈单峰性,峰值出现在7月,5—9月(汛期)降水量占全年的87.4%。季节差异非常明显,降水主要集中在夏季;(2)年降水量空间分布特征:柴达木盆地年降水量各地差异极为显著,降水量整体表现为从东向西逐渐减少。最大值出现在天峻,最小值出现在冷湖。用2种方法推算的年降水量最大值出现在柴达木盆地东北部祁连山南麓的木里镇,其次在格尔木市南部出现了两个相对的大值中心,中间区域(93°～97°E)由四周山区向盆地中心逐渐减少的形势表现得更加清晰。夏季降水量的空间分布与年降水量的空间分布完全一致。(3)国家气象站模型中降水量分布只受经度和海拔高度的影响,而线性回归法和比值订正法模型中降水量的分布不仅受经度和海拔高度的影响,还受纬度的影响,三者的贡献率由大到小的排序是经度海拔高度纬度。     

Spatial modelling of air temperature and precipitation for Andorra (Pyrenees) from daily circulation patterns

Based on the daily sea level pressure (SLP) circulation catalogue obtained by Esteban, Martin-Vide and Mases, Int J Climatol 26:1501–1515, (2006) for Western Europe, high-resolution maps of daily maximum and minimum temperature, mean daily precipitation and daily precipitation probability have been obtained for Andorra (Pyrenees). The 20 daily-circulation patterns cover the period 1960–2001 and were generated using new approaches based on the rotated principal component analysis (PCA) and clustering technique. The final maps of Andorra associated with each circulation pattern have been constructed using altitude, latitude, continentality and solar radiation as multiple regression predictors (Ninyerola, Pons and Roure, Int J Climatol 20:1823–1841, 2000). The daily temperature and rainfall series used from Andorran, French and Catalan/Spanish weather stations have been checked for data quality. The results confirm the complexity of the spatial distribution of meteorological phenomena over mountainous areas such as in Andorra, and show the importance of the Mediterranean and Atlantic influence upon the climate of this country of the Pyrenees. On the other hand, different tests have been made showing that the classification results could improve the resulting interpolated climate maps by the use of the circulation-pattern frequencies.     

Winter and autumn daily precipitation patterns in Catalonia,Spain

Summary A principal component analysis (PCA), based on a network consisting of 60 pluviometric gauges and their daily precipitation data, is attempted in order to describe the main winter and autumn patterns governing precipitation in Catalonia (NE Spain). This PCA procedure is applied to the interstation correlation matrix and rotated component loadings are then deduced and extensively interpreted. The PCA results are then used in a clustering process (Average Linkage), leading to two rainfall divisions, one for each season, which are then compared.With 5 Figures     

Long-term spatial and temporal trends in frost indices in Kansas, USA

Frost indices such as number of frost days (nFDs), number of frost-free days (nFFDs), last spring freeze (LSF), first fall freeze (FFF), and growing-season length (GSL) were calculated using daily minimum air temperature (T_min) from 23 centennial weather stations across Kansas during four time periods (through 1919, 1920–1949, 1950–1979, and 1980–2009). A frost day is defined as a day with T_min?<?0 °C. The long- and short-term trends in frost indices were analyzed at monthly, seasonal, and annual timescales. Probability of occurrence of the indices was analyzed at 5 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 95 %. Results indicated a general increase in T_min from 1900 through 2009 causing a decrease in nFDs. LSF and FFF occurred earlier and later than normal in the year, respectively, thereby resulting in an increase in GSL. In general, northwest Kansas recorded the greatest nFD and lowest T_min, whereas southeast Kansas had the lowest nFD and highest T_min; however, the magnitude of the trends in these indices varied with location, time period, and time scales. Based on the long-term records in most stations, LSF occurred earlier by 0.1–1.9 days/decade, FFF occurred later by 0.2–0.9 day/decade, and GSL was longer by 0.1–2.5 day/decade. At the 50 % probability level, Independence in the south-eastern part of Kansas had the earliest LSF (6 April), latest FFF (29 October) and longest GSL (207 days). Oberlin (north-western Kansas) recorded the shortest GSL (156 days) and earliest FFF (7 October) had the latest LSF (2 May) at the 50 % probability level. A positive correlation was observed for combinations of indices (LSF and GSL) and elevation, whereas a negative correlation was found between FFF and elevation.     

Recent trends in seasonal and annual precipitation indices in Tuscany (Italy)

Global warming alters the hydrological cycle since a rise in temperature leads to an increase in the moisture-holding capacity of the atmosphere at a rate of about 7 %/°C. This fact can influence the global, but also local characteristics of precipitation, such as total amount and intensity. Therefore, it is important to study changes in rainfall regime in regions with complex orography, like Tuscany, where there are strong spatial gradients in precipitation amounts. The aim of this study is to look for temporal change in precipitation from 1955 to 2007 searching for spatial differences. Daily data of 21 meteorological stations were analyzed to identify trends in seasonal and annual precipitation indices. Cluster analysis applied to principal components was applied to identify homogeneous groups of stations. A decrease in precipitation was observed at annual time scale, during winter and spring, especially in northwestern areas. Wet days highlighted a decrease in all of Tuscany, due to the same seasons. In northern Tuscany, the decrease in rainfall amount was mainly determined by a lower frequency of rainy events which in turn caused a decrease in the occurrence of extreme daily precipitation events (75th, 90th, and 95th percentile). In central-southern Tuscany, no significant changes were observed except for an increase in precipitation fraction, due to extreme events and in mean daily total amount for wet days. These results are consistent with recent findings for the Mediterranean area and confirm the usefulness of cluster analysis for the analysis of the spatial distribution of precipitation.     

Monthly and daily precipitation trends in the Mediterranean (1950–2000)

Summary The aim of the paper lies in the identification of possible significant linear trends at monthly, seasonal and annual timescales in the Mediterranean during the second half of the 20th century. Monthly and daily records of 63 stations have been used to elaborate several precipitation indices: sum of daily precipitation (SDP) for rainfall >0.1 mm, >10 mm and >95^th percentile, of number of rainy days (RD) >0.1 mm and >10 mm and of mean daily precipitation (MDP) >0.1 mm and >10 mm. For each index the stations have been gathered together by Rotated Principal Component Analyses to determine 8 sub-areas which can be considered as identical for all the timescales at the spatial scale of the research. Trends have been estimated from the scores of each eigenvector retained in all RPCAs. They are mainly non existant or non significant decreasing, even if a few monthly trends appear to be significantly diminishing, primarily during winter months, March in the Atlantic region, October in the Mediterranean Spain, December in the Lions and Genoa Gulfs, January, winter and the year in Greece, winter and the year in Italy and winter in the Near East and increasing in April in the two gulfs. Correlation coefficients between SDP>0.1 mm and other indices have been computed: the significant trends seem mainly related to RD>10 mm, which represents a high percentage of the total rainfall amount. Greece is remarkable: SDP>0.1 mm and >10 mm decrease significantly during January, winter, the rainy season and the entire year whereas SDP>95^th percentile increases significantly, in accordance with the climatic change scenarios for the end of this century as does the decreasing of the total monthly and seasonal rainfall.     

Heavy daily precipitation distribution in east-central Franceand west European meteorological patterns

Summary  Principal Component Analysis is used to link the spatial distribution of Heavy Daily Precipitation (HDP) in East-Central France with meteorological patterns of the Météo-France automatic classification, which takes into account 15 different meteorological parameters (e.g. geopotential heights at different levels, humidities, pseudo-adiabatic temperatures) over Western Europe. Every parameter is classified in 10 classes, or synoptic patterns. The annual PCA shows 3 dominant modes of HDP distribution, explaining more than 90% of the total variance. Associated atmospheric situations are obtained by using the scores of the 150 classes (10 per meteorological parameter). Other PCAs (i.e., half-annual and seasonal) show roughly the same results, except for the summer one. Received July 20, 1999 Revised January 4, 2000     

Spatial and temporal patterns of the mean annual precipitation at decadal time scale in southern Italy (Calabria region)

Mean annual precipitation variability at decadal time scale over a southern Italy area (Calabria) was investigated to quantify the spatial and temporal patterns. A multivariate approach has been applied to analyse spatial?Ctemporal (1921?C2000) data of annual precipitation. A nested isotropic linear model of coregionalization was fitted to the experimental variograms including three basic structures: a nugget effect, an exponential model and a spherical model. The correlation structure between the decades was analysed by applying principal component analysis at each spatial scale, and specific factors at each characteristic scale were cokriged and mapped. Two components were identified: the first is mainly linked to local factors, which could be identified by the orographic characteristics of the region, while the long range component could be related to large-scale factors, like for example the processes of the global atmospheric circulation. In addition, in order to obtain a better insight into the pattern of relatively dry or wet zones, a standardized relative difference was calculated. The results showed that the annual precipitation decreased during the period 1921?C2000 and the spatial distribution changed with an increase of dry areas.