Premium
A 30‐year (1964–1993) daily rainfall data base for the Spanish Mediterranean regions: first exploratory study
Author(s) -
Romero R.,
Guijarro J. A.,
Ramis C.,
Alonso S.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0088(199804)18:5<541::aid-joc270>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - climatology , mediterranean climate , homogeneous , mediterranean sea , precipitation , environmental science , latitude , period (music) , spatial distribution , subtropics , geography , physical geography , geology , meteorology , physics , remote sensing , archaeology , geodesy , acoustics , thermodynamics , fishery , biology
A dense daily precipitation data base, extending from 1964 to 1993, has been created for the Mediterranean regions of Spain. It is composed of complete and homogeneous series at 410 raingauge stations (347 in the coastal fringe of peninsular Spain, and 63 in the Balearic Islands). The region offers an interesting scenario for mesoclimatological studies on time and spatial rainfall variability: geomorphologically, it is characterized by important coastal relief units and complex distribution of sea and land masses, leading to different exposures to the rain‐bearing maritime winds; climatically, the western Mediterranean is subject to strong seasonal variability, since it is a transition zone between the midlatitude low pressure belt and the subtropical highs as a result of its latitude (between 36° and 44° N). In this study, we exploit the data base and present a first pluviometric characterization of the area by means of yearly and seasonal mean products. The results reveal clear and coherent spatial patterns that we interpret, based on typical storm tracks and land, sea, and relief distributions. In addition, a partition of the 30‐year period into three decades (1964–1973, 1974–1983, 1984–1993) has been considered in order to assess the possible existence of any trend. A successive drying of the most sensitive areas to the winter Atlantic depressions (western Catalonia, and central and west Andalucía) is observed. In contrast, the second analysed decade is appreciably drier than the other two in the areas more dependent on the Mediterranean disturbances. The occurrence of anomalous autumns being the most responsible. This fact emphasizes the fundamental importance of the autumn season for the pluviometric balance of the considered area, especially in its eastern part where the major amount of precipitation during this season is produced by convective systems. © 1998 Royal Meteorological Society