Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts
The link between winter (December-January-February) precipitation events at 15 Mediterranean coastal locations and synoptic features (cyclones and Northern Hemisphere teleconnection patterns) is analyzed. A list of precipitation events has been produced; q percentile thresholds (Th q ) and correspon...
Published in: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2013
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 https://doaj.org/article/9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b 2023-05-15T17:36:52+02:00 Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts M. Reale P. Lionello 2013-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 https://doaj.org/article/9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1707/2013/nhess-13-1707-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1561-8633 https://doaj.org/toc/1684-9981 doi:10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 1561-8633 1684-9981 https://doaj.org/article/9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 13, Iss 7, Pp 1707-1722 (2013) Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 2022-12-31T12:10:34Z The link between winter (December-January-February) precipitation events at 15 Mediterranean coastal locations and synoptic features (cyclones and Northern Hemisphere teleconnection patterns) is analyzed. A list of precipitation events has been produced; q percentile thresholds (Th q ) and corresponding frequency N q (for q equal to 25, 50, 90 and 98) have been considered. A negative trend has been detected in total precipitation and N 50 at many locations, while no significant trend in N 25 , N 90 and N 98 has been found. The negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern (EAWR) compete for exerting the largest influence on the frequency of the 25th, 50th and 90th percentiles, with EAWR and NAO exerting their largest influence in the central and western Mediterranean areas, respectively. All percentiles show a similar behavior except for the 98th percentile, which shows no convincing link to any teleconnection pattern. The cyclone tracks that are associated with precipitation events have been selected using the ERA-40 reanalysis data, and a strong link between intense precipitation and cyclones is shown for all stations. In general, the probability of detecting a cyclone within a distance of 20° from each station increases with the intensity of the precipitation event and decreases with the duration of a dry period. The origin and track of cyclones producing intense precipitation differ among different areas. When precipitation occurs in the northwestern Mediterranean, cyclones are generally either of Atlantic origin or secondary cyclones associated with the passage of major cyclones north of the Mediterranean Basin, while they are mostly generated inside the region itself for events at the eastern Mediterranean coast. An important fraction of intense events in the southern areas is produced by cyclones that are generated over northern Africa. The analysis of sea level pressure and geopotential height at 500 hPa highlights the important role of cyclone depth, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 13 7 1707 1722 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 M. Reale P. Lionello Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts |
topic_facet |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The link between winter (December-January-February) precipitation events at 15 Mediterranean coastal locations and synoptic features (cyclones and Northern Hemisphere teleconnection patterns) is analyzed. A list of precipitation events has been produced; q percentile thresholds (Th q ) and corresponding frequency N q (for q equal to 25, 50, 90 and 98) have been considered. A negative trend has been detected in total precipitation and N 50 at many locations, while no significant trend in N 25 , N 90 and N 98 has been found. The negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern (EAWR) compete for exerting the largest influence on the frequency of the 25th, 50th and 90th percentiles, with EAWR and NAO exerting their largest influence in the central and western Mediterranean areas, respectively. All percentiles show a similar behavior except for the 98th percentile, which shows no convincing link to any teleconnection pattern. The cyclone tracks that are associated with precipitation events have been selected using the ERA-40 reanalysis data, and a strong link between intense precipitation and cyclones is shown for all stations. In general, the probability of detecting a cyclone within a distance of 20° from each station increases with the intensity of the precipitation event and decreases with the duration of a dry period. The origin and track of cyclones producing intense precipitation differ among different areas. When precipitation occurs in the northwestern Mediterranean, cyclones are generally either of Atlantic origin or secondary cyclones associated with the passage of major cyclones north of the Mediterranean Basin, while they are mostly generated inside the region itself for events at the eastern Mediterranean coast. An important fraction of intense events in the southern areas is produced by cyclones that are generated over northern Africa. The analysis of sea level pressure and geopotential height at 500 hPa highlights the important role of cyclone depth, ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Reale P. Lionello |
author_facet |
M. Reale P. Lionello |
author_sort |
M. Reale |
title |
Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts |
title_short |
Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts |
title_full |
Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts |
title_fullStr |
Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts |
title_full_unstemmed |
Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts |
title_sort |
synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the mediterranean coasts |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 https://doaj.org/article/9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 13, Iss 7, Pp 1707-1722 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1707/2013/nhess-13-1707-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1561-8633 https://doaj.org/toc/1684-9981 doi:10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 1561-8633 1684-9981 https://doaj.org/article/9ad1380b6ebc4314ad3050886b6d459b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1707-2013 |
container_title |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1707 |
op_container_end_page |
1722 |
_version_ |
1766136508257927168 |