Analysis of Trends in Temporal and Spatial Irregularity of Precipitation in Mediterranean Chile, 1965–2010
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Abstract
Trends in the temporal and spatial irregularity of precipitation were analysed for the geographic area between 30° S and 35° S latitude for the period from 1965 to 2010. Daily rainfall records from a total of 55 randomly distributed weather stations were used for the analysis. Statistical indicators were constructed based on this information in order to ascertain spatial patterns of precipitation and other irregularity indices with an emphasis on the temporal irregularity index (S1) and the coefficient of variation (CV). Although the study confirmed that precipitation quantities increase with latitude and elevation, there are some geographic peculiarities which stand out, particularly leeward of the Cordillera de la Costa. Both the CV and the S1 diminish in value as latitude increases, but there is no particular pattern with respect to elevation. The study area exhibits very high CV and S1 which makes it difficult to explain the variability of precipitation in this region. For this reason, a new classification which is much relevant to the mediterranean climate of central Chile was obtained through cluster analysis. Finally, it is significant that both indicators are strongly correlated and exhibit consistency with the scientific literature.