Precipitation

About: Precipitation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 32861 publications have been published within this topic receiving 990496 citations. The topic is also known as: rain & rainfall.

A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway:

Abstract: At Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway, detailed knowledge of the number, age and magnitude of Holocene glacier fluctuations is used to reconstruct variations in equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) for the last 10 000 years. Present and past ELAs are based on an accumulation-area ratio (AAR) of 0.7 and are adjusted for land uplift. A synchronous relationship between advanced glacier positions and the highest pine-tree limits (Pinus sylvestris L.) is demonstrated for the early to mid-Holocene in southern Scandinavia, which indicates that warm summers were compensated for by high winter precipitation. Based on pine-tree limit fluctuations as a measure of mean ablation-season temperature, Holocene variations in winter precipitation at Hardangerjokulen have been calculated by substitution in the close exponential relationship between mean ablation-season temperature and winter precipitation at the ELA of Norwegian glaciers. Setting the winter precipitation during the period AD 1961-1990 at 100%, mean values...

Urbanization signature in the observed heavy rainfall climatology over India.

Abstract: We assess the urbanization impacts on the heavy rainfall climatology during the Indian summer monsoon. While a number of studies have identified the impact of urbanization on local precipitation, a large-scale assessment has been lacking. This relation between urbanization and Indian monsoon rainfall changes is investigated by analyzing in situ and satellite-based precipitation and population datasets. Using a long-term daily rainfall dataset and high-resolution gridded analysis of human population, this study showed a significantly increasing trend in the frequency of heavy rainfall climatology over urban regions of India during the monsoon season. Urban regions experience less occurrences of light rainfall and significantly higher occurrences of intense precipitation compared to nonurban regions. Very heavy and extreme rainfall events showed increased trends over both urban and rural areas, but the trends over urban areas were larger and statistically more significant. Our analysis suggests that there is adequate statistical basis to conclude that the observed increasing trend in the frequency of heavy rainfall events over Indian monsoon region is more likely to be over regions where the pace of urbanization is faster. Moreover, rainfall measurements from satellites also indicate that urban areas are more (less) likely to experience heavier (lighter) precipitation rates compared to those in nonurban areas. While the mechanisms causing this enhancement in rainfall remain to be studied, the results provide the evidence that the increase in the heavy rainfall climatology over the Indian monsoon region is a signature of urban-induced rainfall anomaly. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

Regional Variability in Tropical Convection: Observations from TRMM

Abstract: Observation of the vertical profile of precipitation over the global Tropics is a key objective of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) because this information is central to obtaining vertical profiles of latent heating. This study combines both TRMM precipitation radar (PR) and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) data to examine “wet-season” vertical structures of tropical precipitation across a broad spectrum of locations in the global Tropics. TRMM-PR reflectivity data (2A25 algorithm) were utilized to produce seasonal mean three-dimensional relative frequency histograms and precipitation ice water contents over grid boxes of approximately 5°–10° in latitude and longitude. The reflectivity histograms and ice water contents were then combined with LIS lightning flash densities and 2A25 mean rainfall rates to examine regional relationships between precipitation vertical structure, precipitation processes, and lightning production. Analysis of the reflectivity vertical structure histograms ...

Trend analysis of precipitation time series in Greece and their relationship with circulation using surface and satellite data: 1955–2001

Abstract: In this study, the trends of annual and seasonal precipitation time series were examined on the basis of measurements of 22 surface stations in Greece for the period 1955–2001, and satellite data during the period 1980–2001. For this purpose, two statistical tests based on the least square method and one based on the Mann-Kendall test, which is also capable of detecting the starting year of possible climatic discontinuities or changes, are applied. Greece, in general, presents a clear significant downward trend in annual precipitation for the period 1955–2001, which is determined by the respective decreasing trend in winter precipitation. Both winter and annual series exhibit a downward trend with a starting year being 1984. Satellite-derived precipitation time series could be an alternative means for diagnosing the variability of precipitation in Greece and detecting trends provided that they have been adjusted by surface measurements in the wider area of interest. The relationship between precipitation variability in Greece and atmospheric circulation was also examined using correlation analysis with three circulation indices: the well-known North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI), a Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI) and a new Mediterranean Circulation Index (MCI). NAOI is the index that presented the most interesting correlation with winter, summer and annual precipitation in Greece, whereas the MOI and MCI were found to explain a significant proportion of annual and summer precipitation variability, respectively. The observed downward trend in winter and annual precipitation in Greece is linked mainly to a rising trend in the hemispheric circulation modes of the NAO, which are connected with the Mediterranean Oscillation Index.

Land Surface Precipitation in MERRA-2

Abstract: The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), features several major advances from the original MERRA reanalysis, including the use, outside of high latitudes, of observations-based precipitation data products to correct the precipitation falling on the land surface in the MERRA-2 system. The method for merging the observed precipitation into MERRA-2 has been refined from that of the (land-only) MERRA-Land reanalysis. This paper describes the method and evaluates the MERRA-2 land surface precipitation. Compared to monthly GPCPv2.2 observations, the corrected MERRA-2 precipitation (M2CORR) is better than the precipitation generated by the atmospheric models within the cycling MERRA-2 and MERRA systems. M2CORR is also better than MERRA-Land precipitation over Africa because in MERRA-2 a merged satellite–gauge precipitation product is used instead of the gauge-only data used for MERRA-Land. Compared to 3-hourly TRMM observations, the M2CORR diurnal cycle ha...