Spatial Rainfall Characteristics Research Articles

A space-time hybrid hourly rainfall model for derived flood frequency analysis

Abstract. For derived flood frequency analysis based on hydrological modelling long continuous precipitation time series with high temporal resolution are needed. Often, the observation network with recording rainfall gauges is poor, especially regarding the limited length of the available rainfall time series. Stochastic precipitation synthesis is a good alternative either to extend or to regionalise rainfall series to provide adequate input for long-term rainfall-runoff modelling with subsequent estimation of design floods. Here, a new two step procedure for stochastic synthesis of continuous hourly space-time rainfall is proposed and tested for the extension of short observed precipitation time series. First, a single-site alternating renewal model is presented to simulate independent hourly precipitation time series for several locations. The alternating renewal model describes wet spell durations, dry spell durations and wet spell intensities using univariate frequency distributions separately for two seasons. The dependence between wet spell intensity and duration is accounted for by 2-copulas. For disaggregation of the wet spells into hourly intensities a predefined profile is used. In the second step a multi-site resampling procedure is applied on the synthetic point rainfall event series to reproduce the spatial dependence structure of rainfall. Resampling is carried out successively on all synthetic event series using simulated annealing with an objective function considering three bivariate spatial rainfall characteristics. In a case study synthetic precipitation is generated for some locations with short observation records in two mesoscale catchments of the Bode river basin located in northern Germany. The synthetic rainfall data are then applied for derived flood frequency analysis using the hydrological model HEC-HMS. The results show good performance in reproducing average and extreme rainfall characteristics as well as in reproducing observed flood frequencies. The presented model has the potential to be used for ungauged locations through regionalisation of the model parameters.

유출수문곡선과 돌발홍수지수를 이용한 돌발홍수심도 산정

지금까지 돌발홍수는 주로 강우의 시공간적인 특성들을 고려한 기후학적 측면에서 관심을 가지고 연구가 진행되어 왔을 뿐 유출의 시각에서 돌발홍수를 평가하기 위한 노력은 매우 미흡하였다고 할 수 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 Bhaskar 등(2000)의 연구를 우리나라에 적용하여 유출수문곡선에 의해 돌발홍수를 설명하고, 다른 홍수사상과 돌발 홍수 사상을 구별하고자 하는데 있다. 즉, 유출수문곡선의 특성을 이용해 홍수사상에 대한 돌발홍수지수(flash flood index)를 산정함으로써 돌발홍수의 심각성 정도를 정량화하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 본 논문에서는 한강유역의 과거 101개의 홍수사상에 대해 돌발홍수의 상대심도(relative severity)를 파악하기 위하여 돌발홍수지수를 산정하였으며 또한, 2006년 7월의 집중호우에 의해 발생한 홍수사상의 돌발홍수 심도를 시공간적으로 정량화하였다. 분석 결과, 한강유역의 다른 지역에 비해 강원도 지역의 홍수 유출수문곡선들이 돌발홍수 심도를 크게 나타내었으며 중랑천 등과 같은 도시유역에서도 돌발심도가 크게 나타남을 확인 할 수 있었다. 2006년 7월 집중호우에 의한 한강유역의 돌발홍수지수를 7월 전반기, 중반기 그리고 하반기로 나누어 시공간적 공간분포를 분석한 결과, 7월 전반기의 경우 서울 주변지역의 돌발심도가 크게 나타났으며 7월 중반기의 경우 강원도 지역의 돌발홍수 심도가 크게 나타났다. The flash flood has been studied in the climatological aspect which considers temporal and spatial characteristics of rainfall. However, we have not interested in runoff hydrograph for flash flood study. Therefore, our objectives of this study are to apply a work of Bhaskar et. al (2000) which studied runoff hydrograph to represent the flash flood to Korea and also to distinguish flash flood event from general flood event. That is, we quantified the severity of flash flood by estimation of flash flood index using runoff hydrograph. This study estimated the flash flood index for investigating the relative severity of flash flood in Han river basin with 101 flood events. Also we quantified the flash flood severity for flood event by heavy rainfall occurred in July of 2006. As a result, Kangwon-do province showed more severe flash flood than other areas in Han river basin and urban area such as Jungrang cheon stream also showed severe flash flood. We analyzed a flash flood of July of 2006 by dividing July into 1st to 3rd terms. From the analysis we knew that the 1st term of July showed the severe flash flood was occurred in Seoul area and the 2nd term showed it was occurred in Kangwon-do province.

Temporal and spatial variation of annual rainfall on the island of Crete, Greece

AbstractAnnual rainfall records from the island of Crete in Greece were used with the aid of a geographical information system (GIS) to study the temporal and spatial rainfall characteristics. The GIS was used to produce a digital elevation model, delineate watersheds and estimate the areal rainfall from a network of raingauges by using different interpolation schemes. The rainfall–elevation correlation was significant, suggesting an orographic type of precipitation for the island. The rainfall records for the majority of the stations were found to fit the normal distribution. Deviation from normal for the rest of the records was attributed to the wettest year of 1977–1978. The year 1989–1990 was the driest, and most rainfall records showed a decrease in rainfall over 30 years with higher negative rainfall gradients at the higher elevations. Frequency analysis of the rainfall records was used to estimate areal rainfall for the island of Crete and its main watersheds for return periods of 2, 5 and 10 years. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Some aspects of Indian northeast monsoon as derived from TOVS data

The Tiros Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) is a popular satellite sounding system. In this paper certain features of Indian northeast monsoon have been studied with the help of three years of TOVS data received through the satellite ground station located at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai. The TOVS based latitudinal and longitudinal profiles of Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) and Precipitable Water Vapour (PWV) were derived for various phases of northeast monsoon activity, over coastal and interior Tamilnadu and oceanic regions. These were consistent with the known spatial rainfall characteristics of northeast monsoon. The average vertical temperature profiles derived for the various phases of northeast monsoon for the different regions revealed that the lowest layer and upper troposphere are warmer and mid troposphere colder during active northeast monsoon compared to dry phase. The diurnal variation of OLR and PWV and the comparability of TOVS derived data with conventional upper air data and INSAT data have been briefly discussed.

Monthly spatial rainfall correlation functions and interpretations for Turkey

Monthly spatial rainfall distribution features and their effects on spatial correlation patterns are significant in any regional study. In this paper, first a number of statistical terms and properties are explained with reference to the spatial correlation functions (SCFs). This is followed by the analysis of a theoretical spatial correlation model and its parameter estimation. Monthly empirical SCFs are examined in relation to spatial rainfall characteristics. In order to obtain a definite pattern, the SCF values are averaged in successive equal-distance groups. This average spatial correlation function shows a decreasing pattern with distance. Some interpretations of these spatial correlation functions are given for Turkey with discussion of the results obtained.

Temporal and spatial characteristics of rainfall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Knowledge of temporal and spatial characteristics of rainfall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is still lacking and they are still considered important for more efficient management of the implemented urban water resources projects. In view of this, a study was conducted to characterise the historical rainfall phenomena (from 1982 to 1992). Statistical properties of annual, monthly, and minutes rainfall were derived. Spatial correlation fields for the annual and monthly rainfalls were studied. The results showed that the temporal and spatial characteristics of rainfall in this region were pronounced, even on the basis of two groups of monthly rainfall. Thus they give the basis for further understanding of rainfall processes in Kuala Lumpur region and, in general, in humid tropics.

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Rainfall at a South-west Slope of Volcanic Mt. Merapi in lndonesia

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Rainfall at a South-west Slope of Volcanic Mt. Merapi in lndonesia

On the Design Rainfall Considering the Spatial Distribution of the Rainfall Field

The design rainfall is usually determined based on the probabilistic characteristics of point rainfall. Spatial distribution of rainfall, however, plays an important role in run-off process. This paper discus the spatial characteristics of rainfall and proposes a simulation algorithm of design rainfal.A Fourier series is used to express the rainfall field. In the equation, the linear term is connected to the volumetric design rainfall and Fourier coefficients and phase angles are discussed.

A multivariate spatial-temporal model of rainfall in southwest Saudi Arabia. I. Spatial rainfall characteristics and model formulation

Hourly data from a network of 100 autographic raingauges have been collected as part of an extensive hydrological investigation of five wadis in southwest Saudi Arabia. The general spatial and temporal characteristics of these data are presented. Seasonality of catchment rainday occurrence is illustrated and gauge rainday occurrence shown to be strongly associated with elevation. Most point rainfalls are of 1–2 h duration, initiated in mid to late afternoon. Spatial distribution is highly localised so that for the minimum intergauge distances of 8–20 km, probability of joint occurrence and cross-correlation of hourly rainfall are small. On the basis of these data, a stochastic model of the spatial distribution of hourly rainfall has been formulated. Catchment and gauge rainday occurrence are well reproduced, as are point rainfall depths and durations. Spatial performance is reasonable for daily rainfall. However, the weak spatial dependence in the data leads to some clustering of occurrence at the hourly level, which the model is unable to reproduce.