Publication Date:
2020-11-24
Description:
Stochastic rainfall generators aim to reproduce the main statistical features of rainfall at small spatial and temporal scales. The simulated synthetic rainfall series are recognized as suitable for use with impact analysis in water, agricultural, and ecological management. Convection-driven precipitation, dominant in certain regions of the world such as the intertropical belt regions, presents properties that require specific consideration when modeling: (i) strong rainfall intermittency, (ii) high variability of intensities within storms, (iii) strong spatiotemporal correlation of intensities, and (iv) marked seasonality of storm properties. In this article, improvements for an existing statistico-dynamic rainfall generator that models convective storms are presented. Notable novelties include (i) the ability to model precipitation event timing, (ii) an improved temporal disaggregation scheme representing the rainfall distribution at sub-event scales, and (iii) using covariates to reflect seasonal changes in precipitation occurrence and marginal distribution parameters. Extreme values are explicitly considered in the distribution of storm event intensities. The simulator is calibrated and validated using 28 years of five-minute precipitation data from the 30 rain gauge AMMA-CATCH network in the Sahelian region of southwest Niger. Both large propagative systems and smaller local convective precipitation are generated. Results show that simulator improvements coherently represent the local climatology. The simulator can generate scenarios for impact studies with accurate representation of convective precipitation characteristics.
Print ISSN:
1525-755X
Electronic ISSN:
1525-7541
Topics:
Geography
,
Geosciences
,
Physics
