Gallego et al. (2011) Trends in frequency indices of daily precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula during the last century

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
• Year: 2011
• Date: 2011-01-20
• Authors: M. C. Gallego, Ricardo M. Trigo, J. M. Vaquero, Manola Brunet, J. A. García, Javier Sigró, M. A. Valente
• DOI: 10.1029/2010jd014255

Research Groups

Not explicitly stated in the provided text, but involves data collection and analysis from meteorological stations across Portugal and Spain.

Short Summary

This study provides the first long-term assessment of changes in precipitation associated with different rainfall categories over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) from 1903–2003, revealing contrasting trends in the number of rainy days and dry spells between the first and second halves of the 20th century.

Objective

• To provide the first long-term assessment of changes in precipitation associated with different rainfall categories over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) using recently digitized historical data.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain), utilizing data from 27 stations.
• Temporal Scale: 1903–2003 (complete period), with subperiods 1903–1953 and 1954–2003. Seasonal analysis was performed.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable (observational study).
• Data sources: Recently digitized historical precipitation data from 27 stations in Portugal and Spain. Precipitation indices were evaluated seasonally according to five rainfall categories: total rainfall (≥0.2 mm), light rainfall (≥0.2 mm and <2.5 mm), moderate rainfall (≥2.5 mm and <7.5 mm), intense rainfall (≥7.5 mm), and very intense rainfall (≥15 mm).

Main Results

• For the complete period (1903–2003), the total number of rainy days and light rainfall days are increasing at many observatories over the IP for all seasons, except in western Portugal and the Cádiz gulf where decreases are observed.
• The two subperiods (1903–1953 and 1954–2003) show opposite behaviors in fall and spring.
• In fall, the first subperiod (1903–1953) shows a generalized decrease in the number of rainy days across all rainfall categories, while the second subperiod (1954–2003) shows a generalized increase.
• In spring, an increase in the number of rainy days is found mainly for total, moderate, and intense categories during the first subperiod, followed by a slight decrease during the second subperiod.
• In winter, a decrease in the number of rainy days is verified mainly for total, moderate, and intense rainfall categories in the second subperiod.
• The maximum length of dry spells for both subperiods generally shows significant trends opposite to those of the total number of rainy days.

Contributions

• Provides the first long-term assessment of precipitation changes categorized by rainfall intensity over the Iberian Peninsula.
• Utilizes recently digitized historical precipitation data, enabling the characterization of contrasting evolutionary trends between the first and second halves of the 20th century, which was previously not possible.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Gallego2011Trends,
  author = {Gallego, M. C. and Trigo, Ricardo M. and Vaquero, J. M. and Brunet, Manola and García, J. A. and Sigró, Javier and Valente, M. A.},
  title = {Trends in frequency indices of daily precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula during the last century},
  journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres},
  year = {2011},
  doi = {10.1029/2010jd014255},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2010jd014255}
}