Analysis of extreme rainfall in the Ebre Observatory (Spain)

The relationship between maximum rainfall rates for time intervals between 5 min and 24 h has been studied from almost a century (1905-2003) of rainfall data registered in the Ebre Observatory (Tarragona, Spain). Intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves and their master equation for every return pe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pérez Zanón, Núria, Casas Castillo, M. Carmen, Rodríguez Solá, Raúl, Peña, Juan Carlos, Rius, Anna, Solé, J. Germán, Redaño, Àngel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/127934
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/127934
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Pluja
Climatologia
Observacions meteorològiques
Rain and rainfall
Climatology
Meteorological observations
Descripción
Sumario:The relationship between maximum rainfall rates for time intervals between 5 min and 24 h has been studied from almost a century (1905-2003) of rainfall data registered in the Ebre Observatory (Tarragona, Spain). Intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves and their master equation for every return period in the location have been obtained, as well as the probable maximum precipitation (PMP) for all the considered durations. In particular, the value of the 1-day PMP has resulted to be 415 mm, very similar to previous estimations of this variable for the same location. Extreme rainfall events recorded in this period have been analyzed and classified according to their temporal scale. Besides the three main classes of cases corresponding to the main meteorological scales, local, mesoscale, and synoptic, a fourth group constituted by complex events with high-intensity rates for a large range of durations has been identified also, indicating the contribution of different scale meteorological processes acting together in the origin of the rainfall. A weighted intensity index taking into account the maximum rainfall rate in representative durations of every meteorological scale has been calculated for every extreme rainfall event in order to reflect their complexity.