scholarly journals Stationary and Non-Stationary Frameworks for Extreme Rainfall Time Series in Southern Italy

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide De Luca ◽  
Luciano Galasso
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Rainfall Time Series ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Maximum Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Events

This study tests stationary and non-stationary approaches for modelling data series of hydro-meteorological variables. Specifically, the authors considered annual maximum rainfall accumulations observed in the Calabria region (southern Italy), and attention was focused on time series characterized by heavy rainfall events which occurred from 1 January 2000 in the study area. This choice is justified by the need to check if the recent rainfall events in the new century can be considered as very different or not from the events occurred in the past. In detail, the whole data set of each considered time series (characterized by a sample size N > 40 data) was analyzed, in order to compare recent and past rainfall accumulations, which occurred in a specific site. All the proposed models were based on the Two-Component Extreme Value (TCEV) probability distribution, which is frequently applied for annual maximum time series in Calabria. The authors discussed the possible sources of uncertainty related to each framework and remarked on the crucial role played by ergodicity. In fact, if the process is assumed to be non-stationary, then ergodicity cannot hold, and thus possible trends should be derived from external sources, different from the time series of interest: in this work, Regional Climate Models’ (RCMs) outputs were considered in order to assess possible trends of TCEV parameters. From the obtained results, it does not seem essential to adopt non-stationary models, as significant trends do not appear from the observed data, due to a relevant number of heavy events which also occurred in the central part of the last century.

Long term variations of the hydrochemical composition of deep thermal ground water in the Lower Bavarian Molasse Basin – Causes and Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Dietmaier ◽  
Thomas Baumann
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Fluid Composition ◽  
Molasse Basin ◽  
Deep Groundwater ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Groundwater Aquifers

<p>The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) commits EU member states to achieve a good qualitative and quantitative status of all their water bodies.  WFD provides a list of actions to be taken to achieve the goal of good status.  However, this list disregards the specific conditions under which deep (> 400 m b.g.l.) groundwater aquifers form and exist.  In particular, deep groundwater fluid composition is influenced by interaction with the rock matrix and other geofluids, and may assume a bad status without anthropogenic influences. Thus, a new concept with directions of monitoring and modelling this specific kind of aquifers is needed. Their status evaluation must be based on the effects induced by their exploitation. Here, we analyze long-term real-life production data series to detect changes in the hydrochemical deep groundwater characteristics which might be triggered by balneological and geothermal exploitation. We aim to use these insights to design a set of criteria with which the status of deep groundwater aquifers can be quantitatively and qualitatively determined. Our analysis is based on a unique long-term hydrochemical data set, taken from 8 balneological and geothermal sites in the molasse basin of Lower Bavaria, Germany, and Upper Austria. It is focused on a predefined set of annual hydrochemical concentration values. The data range dates back to 1937. Our methods include developing threshold corridors, within which a good status can be assumed, and developing cluster analyses, correlation, and piper diagram analyses. We observed strong fluctuations in the hydrochemical characteristics of the molasse basin deep groundwater during the last decades. Special interest is put on fluctuations that seem to have a clear start and end date, and to be correlated with other exploitation activities in the region. For example, during the period between 1990 and 2020, bicarbonate and sodium values displayed a clear increase, followed by a distinct dip to below-average values and a subsequent return to average values at site F. During the same time, these values showed striking irregularities at site B. Furthermore, we observed fluctuations in several locations, which come close to disqualifying quality thresholds, commonly used in German balneology. Our preliminary results prove the importance of using long-term (multiple decades) time series analysis to better inform quality and quantity assessments for deep groundwater bodies: most fluctuations would stay undetected within a < 5 year time series window, but become a distinct irregularity when viewed in the context of multiple decades. In the next steps, a quality assessment matrix and threshold corridors will be developed, which take into account methods to identify these fluctuations. This will ultimately aid in assessing the sustainability of deep groundwater exploitation and reservoir management for balneological and geothermal uses.</p>

scholarly journals Improving runoff estimates from regional climate models: a performance analysis in Spain

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1709-1723 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. González-Zeas ◽  
L. Garrote ◽  
A. Iglesias ◽  
A. Sordo-Ward
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Aridity Index ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Direct Runoff ◽  
Interpolation Methods ◽  
Basin Scale

Abstract. An important step to assess water availability is to have monthly time series representative of the current situation. In this context, a simple methodology is presented for application in large-scale studies in regions where a properly calibrated hydrologic model is not available, using the output variables simulated by regional climate models (RCMs) of the European project PRUDENCE under current climate conditions (period 1961–1990). The methodology compares different interpolation methods and alternatives to generate annual times series that minimise the bias with respect to observed values. The objective is to identify the best alternative to obtain bias-corrected, monthly runoff time series from the output of RCM simulations. This study uses information from 338 basins in Spain that cover the entire mainland territory and whose observed values of natural runoff have been estimated by the distributed hydrological model SIMPA. Four interpolation methods for downscaling runoff to the basin scale from 10 RCMs are compared with emphasis on the ability of each method to reproduce the observed behaviour of this variable. The alternatives consider the use of the direct runoff of the RCMs and the mean annual runoff calculated using five functional forms of the aridity index, defined as the ratio between potential evapotranspiration and precipitation. In addition, the comparison with respect to the global runoff reference of the UNH/GRDC dataset is evaluated, as a contrast of the "best estimator" of current runoff on a large scale. Results show that the bias is minimised using the direct original interpolation method and the best alternative for bias correction of the monthly direct runoff time series of RCMs is the UNH/GRDC dataset, although the formula proposed by Schreiber (1904) also gives good results.

scholarly journals Downscaling future precipitation extremes to urban hydrology scales using a spatio-temporal Neyman–Scott weather generator

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1387-1403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hjalte Jomo Danielsen Sørup ◽  
Ole Bøssing Christensen ◽  
Karsten Arnbjerg-Nielsen ◽  
Peter Steen Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Weather Generator ◽  
Spatial Extent ◽  
Urban Hydrology ◽  
Precipitation Time Series ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Abstract. Spatio-temporal precipitation is modelled for urban application at 1 h temporal resolution on a 2 km grid using a spatio-temporal Neyman–Scott rectangular pulses weather generator (WG). Precipitation time series used as input to the WG are obtained from a network of 60 tipping-bucket rain gauges irregularly placed in a 40 km  ×  60 km model domain. The WG simulates precipitation time series that are comparable to the observations with respect to extreme precipitation statistics. The WG is used for downscaling climate change signals from regional climate models (RCMs) with spatial resolutions of 25 and 8 km, respectively. Six different RCM simulation pairs are used to perturb the WG with climate change signals resulting in six very different perturbation schemes. All perturbed WGs result in more extreme precipitation at the sub-daily to multi-daily level and these extremes exhibit a much more realistic spatial pattern than what is observed in RCM precipitation output. The WG seems to correlate increased extreme intensities with an increased spatial extent of the extremes meaning that the climate-change-perturbed extremes have a larger spatial extent than those of the present climate. Overall, the WG produces robust results and is seen as a reliable procedure for downscaling RCM precipitation output for use in urban hydrology.

scholarly journals Heavy rainfall equations for Santa Catarina, Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 2127-2134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro José Back ◽  
Alan Henn ◽  
José Luiz Rocha Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Region ◽  
Daily Rainfall ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
Santa Catarina ◽  
Maximum Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Intensity Duration Frequency ◽  
Annual Maximum Rainfall

Knowledge of intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relationships of rainfall events is extremely important to determine the dimensions of surface drainage structures and soil erosion control. The purpose of this study was to obtain IDF equations of 13 rain gauge stations in the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil: Chapecó, Urussanga, Campos Novos, Florianópolis, Lages, Caçador, Itajaí, Itá, Ponte Serrada, Porto União, Videira, Laguna and São Joaquim. The daily rainfall data charts of each station were digitized and then the annual maximum rainfall series were determined for durations ranging from 5 to 1440 min. Based on these, with the Gumbel-Chow distribution, the maximum rainfall was estimated for durations ranging from 5 min to 24 h, considering return periods of 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 years,. Data agreement with the Gumbel-Chow model was verified by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, at 5 % significance level. For each rain gauge station, two IDF equations of rainfall events were adjusted, one for durations from 5 to 120 min and the other from 120 to 1440 min. The results show a high variability in maximum intensity of rainfall events among the studied stations. Highest values of coefficients of variation in the annual maximum series of rainfall were observed for durations of over 600 min at the stations of the coastal region of Santa Catarina.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Rainfall Temporal Distribution Models with Annual Maximum Rainfall Events in Seoul, Korea

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wooyoung Na ◽  
Chulsang Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Root Mean Square Error ◽  
Peak Flow ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
Block Method ◽  
Maximum Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Pattern Correlation ◽  
Annual Maximum Rainfall

This study evaluated five models of rainfall temporal distribution (i.e., the Yen and Chow model, Mononobe model, alternating block method, Huff model, and Keifer and Chu model), with the annual maximum rainfall events selected from Seoul, Korea, from 1961 to 2016. Three different evaluation measures were considered: the absolute difference between the rainfall peaks of the model and the observed, the root mean square error, and the pattern correlation coefficient. Also, sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine whether the model, or the randomness of the rainfall temporal distribution, had the dominant effect on the runoff peak flow. As a result, the Keifer and Chu model was found to produce the most similar rainfall peak to the observed, the root mean square error was smaller for the Yen and Chow model and the alternating block method, and the pattern correlation was larger for the alternating block method. Overall, the best model to approximate the annual maximum rainfall events observed in Seoul, Korea, was found to be the alternating block method. Finally, the sensitivity of the runoff peak flow to the model of rainfall temporal distribution was found to be much higher than that to the randomness of the rainfall temporal distribution. In particular, in small basins with a high curve number (CN) value, the sensitivity of the runoff peak flow to the randomness of the rainfall temporal distribution was found to be insignificant.

scholarly journals Solar Irradiance and Temperature Variability and Projected Trends Analysis in Burundi

Climate ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnidé Emmanuel Lawin ◽  
Marc Niyongendako ◽  
Célestin Manirakiza
Keyword(s):  
Solar Irradiance ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Projection Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Variability Analysis ◽  
The Future

This paper assessed the variability and projected trends of solar irradiance and temperature in the East of Burundi. Observed temperature from meteorological stations and the MERRA-2 data set provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center are used over the historical period 1976–2005. In addition, solar irradiance data provided by SoDa database were considered. Furthermore, projection data from eight Regional Climate Models were used over the periods 2026–2045 and 2066–2085. The variability analysis was performed using a standardized index. Projected trends and changes in the future climate were respectively detected through Mann-Kendall and t-tests. The findings over the historical period revealed increase temperature and decrease in solar irradiance over the last decades of the 20th century. At a monthly scale, the variability analysis showed that excesses in solar irradiance coincide with the dry season, which led to the conclusion that it may be a period of high production for solar energy. In the future climate, upward trends in temperature are expected over the two future periods, while no significant trends are forecasted in solar irradiance over the entire studied region. However, slight decreases and significant changes in solar irradiance have been detected over all regions.

scholarly journals Understanding Flood Seasonality and Its Temporal Shifts within the Contiguous United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1997-2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Ye ◽  
Hong-Yi Li ◽  
L. Ruby Leung ◽  
Jiali Guo ◽  
Qihua Ran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Circular Statistics ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
Maximum Rainfall

Abstract Understanding the causes of flood seasonality is critical for better flood management. This study examines the seasonality of annual maximum floods (AMF) and its changes before and after 1980 at over 250 natural catchments across the contiguous United States. Using circular statistics to define a seasonality index, the analysis focuses on the variability of the flood occurrence date. Generally, catchments with more synchronized seasonal water and energy cycles largely inherit their seasonality of AMF from that of annual maximum rainfall (AMR). In contrast, the seasonality of AMF in catchments with loosely synchronized water and energy cycles are more influenced by high antecedent storage, which is responsible for the amplification of the seasonality of AMF over that of AMR. This understanding then effectively explains a statistically significant shift of flood seasonality detected in some catchments in the recent decades. Catchments where the antecedent soil water storage has increased since 1980 exhibit increasing flood seasonality while catchments that have experienced increases in storm rainfall before the floods have shifted toward floods occurring more variably across the seasons. In the eastern catchments, a concurrent widespread increase in event rainfall magnitude and reduced soil water storage have led to a more variable timing of floods. The findings of the role of antecedent storage and event rainfall on the flood seasonality provide useful insights for understanding future changes in flood seasonality as climate models projected changes in extreme precipitation and aridity over land.

scholarly journals Improving runoff estimates from regional climate models: a performance analysis in Spain

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-214
Author(s):  
D. González-Zeas ◽  
L. Garrote ◽  
A. Iglesias ◽  
A. Sordo-Ward
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Direct Runoff ◽  
Interpolation Methods ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. An important aspect to assess the impact of climate change on water availability is to have monthly time series representative of the current situation. In this context, a simple methodology is presented for application in large-scale studies in regions where a properly calibrated hydrologic model is not available, using the output variables simulated by regional climate models (RCMs) of the European project PRUDENCE under current climate conditions (period 1961–1990). The methodology compares different interpolation methods and alternatives to generate annual times series that minimize the bias with respect to observed values. The objective is to identify the best alternative to obtain bias-corrected, monthly runoff time series from the output of RCM simulations. This study uses information from 338 basins in Spain that cover the entire mainland territory and whose observed values of naturalised runoff have been estimated by the distributed hydrological model SIMPA. Four interpolation methods for downscaling runoff to the basin scale from 10 RCMs are compared with emphasis on the ability of each method to reproduce the observed behavior of this variable. The alternatives consider the use of the direct runoff of the RCMs and the mean annual runoff calculated using five functional forms of the aridity index, defined as the ratio between potential evaporation and precipitation. In addition, the comparison with respect to the global runoff reference of the UNH/GRDC dataset is evaluated, as a contrast of the "best estimator" of current runoff on a large scale. Results show that the bias is minimised using the direct original interpolation method and the best alternative for bias correction of the monthly direct runoff time series of RCMs is the UNH/GRDC dataset, although the formula proposed by Schreiber also gives good results.

scholarly journals A pragmatic re-engineering approach to extend short observation time series by climate anomaly gridding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Einar Tveito
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Climate Anomaly ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
Climate Gradients ◽  
Observation Series

<p>For many purposes, including the estimation of climate normals, requires long, continuous  and preferably homogeneous time series. Many observation series do not meet these requirements, especially due to modernisation and automation of the observation network. Despite the lack of long series there is still a need to provide climate parameters representing a longer time period than available. An actual problem is the calculation of new standard climate normals for the 1991-2020 period, where normal values need to be assigned also for observation series not meeting the requirements of WMO to estimate climate normals from observations. </p><p>One possible approach to estimate monthly time series is to extract value from gridded climate anomaly fields. In this study this approach is applied to complete time series that will be the basis for calculation of long term reference values.</p><p>The calculation of the long term time series is a two step procedure. First monthly anomaly grids based on homogenised data series are produced. The homogenized series provide more stable and reliable spatial estimates than applying non homogenised data. The homogenised data set is also complete ensuring a spatially consistent input throughout the analysis period 1991-2020.</p><p>The monthly anomalies for the location of the series to be complete are extracted from the gridded fields. By combining the interpolated anomalies with the observations the long term mean value can be estimated. The study shows that this approach provides reliable estimates of long term values, even with just a few events for calibration. The precision of the estimates depend more on the representativity of the grid estimates than length of the observation series. At locations where the anomaly grids represent the spatial climate variability well, stable estimates are achieved. On the other hand will the estimates at locations where the anomaly grids are less accurate due to sparse data coverage or steep climate gradients lead to estimates with a larger variability, and  thus more uncertain estimates. </p>

scholarly journals High-resolution analysis of 1 day extreme precipitation in Sicily

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 2247-2281 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Maugeri ◽  
M. Brunetti ◽  
M. Garzoglio ◽  
C. Simolo
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Generalized Extreme Value Distribution ◽  
Return Level ◽  
Regional Frequency Analysis ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Data Set

Abstract. Sicily, the major Mediterranean island, experienced several exceptional precipitation episodes and floods during the last century, with dramatic consequences on human life and environment. A long term, rational planning of urban development is mandatory for protecting population and avoiding huge economic losses in the future. This requires a deep knowledge of the distributional features of extreme precipitation over the complex territory of Sicily. In the present study, we address this issue, and attempt a detailed investigation of observed 1-day precipitation extremes and their frequency distribution, based on a dense data-set of high-quality, homogenized station records in 1921–2005. We extrapolate very high quantiles (return levels) corresponding to 10-, 50- and 100-year return periods, as predicted by a generalized extreme value distribution. Return level estimates are produced on a regular high-resolution grid (30 arcsec) using a variant of regional frequency analysis combined with regression techniques. Results clearly reflect the complexity of this region, and make evident the high vulnerability of its eastern and northeastern parts as those prone to the most intense and potentially damaging events. This analysis thus provides an operational tool for extreme precipitation risk assessment and, at the same time, is an useful basis for validation and downscaling of regional climate models.

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