Martínez et al. (2006) Spatial and temporal daily rainfall regime in Catalonia (NE Spain) derived from four precipitation indices, years 1950–2000

Identification

• Journal: International Journal of Climatology
• Year: 2006
• Date: 2006-06-26
• Authors: M. D. Martínez, X. Lana, A. Burgueño, C. Serra
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.1369

Research Groups

• Grup de Recerca del Canvi Climàtic, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
• Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
• Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
• Earth Sciences Centre, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

Short Summary

This study assessed long-term annual changes in extreme temperature and precipitation indices over peninsular Spain from 1901 to 2005 using newly developed daily adjusted datasets, revealing significant warming trends, particularly in extreme temperatures, and a tendency towards heavier precipitation events primarily in the first half of the 20th century.

Objective

• To assess the long-term annual changes in extreme temperature and precipitation indices over peninsular Spain for the period 1901–2005.
• To document important changes in the occurrence of climatic extremes for mainland Spain over the entire 20th century and to identify changes in the probability density function of Spanish temperature and precipitation records, with special emphasis on the recent period of accelerated warming.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Peninsular Spain (mainland Spain), utilizing a network of 22 meteorological stations covering main Spanish climate types.
• Temporal Scale: 1901–2005 for the analysis of extreme indices, with underlying daily adjusted temperature and precipitation series extending back to the mid-19th century (e.g., Cadiz from 1850).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: RClimDex software package for calculating climate-extreme indices (e.g., percentile-based temperature and precipitation indices, warm-spell duration index (WSDI), cold-spell duration index (CSDI), simple daily intensity index (SDII), greatest 1- and 5-day total precipitation). Gaussian low-pass filter (13 terms) for smoothing time series. Sen's slope estimator for trend calculation. Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT) for homogeneity reassessment of monthly averaged data.
• Data sources: Spanish Daily Adjusted Temperature Series (SDATS) and Spanish Daily Adjusted Precipitation Series (SDAPS) datasets, developed within the European Community (EC)-funded project EMULATE. Raw daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures and daily precipitation data primarily from the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología (INM, Spanish Meteorological Office), supplemented by other sources for the 19th century.

Main Results

• Temperature Extremes:
  • Both upper (hot) and lower (cold) percentiles of daily Tmax and Tmin distributions showed a significant warming shift across the 20th century, with a remarkable increase since 1973.
  • Over the entire 20th century, Tmax tails warmed faster than Tmin tails, indicating larger reductions in daytime cold extremes and increases in daytime hot extremes.
  • In the recent period of strong warming (1973–2005), Tmin tails accelerated their warming, leading to more similar rates of change between daytime and night-time extreme temperatures.
  • Cold-spell duration index (CSDI) decreased, and warm-spell duration index (WSDI) increased throughout the 20th century. Reductions in cold outbreaks were slightly larger than increases in heat waves over the entire period.
  • The most recent warming period (1973–2005) was characterized by a prominent increase in heat waves (WSDI), suggesting temperatures became hotter rather than just less cold.
• Precipitation Extremes:
  • The Simple Daily Intensity Index (SDII) showed a slight increase over the 20th century (significant at 0.10 level), mainly influenced by the initial warming episode (1901–1949).
  • Total annual rainfall from very wet days (R95p) and extremely wet days (R99p) increased significantly over the 20th century (R95p significant at 0.05 level), consistent with a warming climate.
  • These increases in heavy precipitation events were predominantly observed during the initial warming episode (first half of the 20th century).
  • No significant changes in precipitation extreme indices were detected during the recent period of strong warming (since 1973).
  • The greatest 5-day total rainfall (R5d) showed a significant increasing trend over the entire period, also mainly associated with the initial warming episode.

Contributions

• Developed and utilized new, long-term (1850–2005) daily adjusted temperature and precipitation datasets (SDATS and SDAPS) for Spain, addressing a critical lack of reliable long-term daily data for the region.
• Provided a comprehensive analysis of annual changes in a wide suite of temperature and precipitation extreme indices across peninsular Spain for the entire 20th century, including an examination of different sub-periods of warming and cooling.
• Documented the differential warming rates between daytime and night-time extreme temperatures and their temporal evolution, highlighting a shift in the most recent warming period where night-time warming accelerated.
• Contributed a detailed regional assessment of climate extremes for Spain within the framework of international initiatives like the ETCCDI and EMULATE, thereby enhancing global understanding of climate change impacts.

Funding

• EU EMULATE project (EVK2-CT-2002-00161)
• Spanish SCREEN project (CICYT: REN2002-0091/CLI)
• Spanish CLICAL project (CICYT: CGL2006-13327-C04-03/CLI)

Citation

@article{Martínez2006Spatial,
  author = {Martínez, M. D. and Lana, X. and Burgueño, A. and Serra, C.},
  title = {Spatial and temporal daily rainfall regime in Catalonia (NE Spain) derived from four precipitation indices, years 1950–2000},
  journal = {International Journal of Climatology},
  year = {2006},
  doi = {10.1002/joc.1369},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1369}
}