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Call for Papers for the semi-thematic N° 67: (Re)defining rural territories, between the global South and North: actors, processes, scales.

Full papers are invited to be submitted via the journal's official platform by 15 March 2024.

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The spatial distribution of the temporal fractality of precipitation in peninsular Spain and its relationship with the concentration index

Authors

  • Óliver Meseguer Ruiz Grupo de Climatología, Universidad de Barcelona
  • Javier Martín Vide Grupo de Climatología, Universidad de Barcelona
  • Jorge Olcina Cantos Instituto Interuniversitario de Geografía, Universidad de Alicante
  • Pablo Sarricolea Espinoza Grupo de Climatología, Universidad de Barcelona - Departamento de Geografía, Universidad de Chile

Abstract

The fractal dimension of the temporal distribution of precipitation (D) is an indicator of the property of self-similarity in the distribution of rainfall at different time intervals. While its spatial meaning has been widely worked previously and is well defined, the interpretation of fractality applied to the temporal distribution is abstract. The values of D for 20 observatories with 10 minutes data in mainland Spain have been calculated for the period from 1997 to 2010. The spatial behavior of the Fractal Dimension presents maximum values in the northern region of the study area, being very similar to the south, and minimum values in the east. The Concentration Index (CI) expresses the relative weight of the rainiest days of a series on the total accumulated rainfall of that series, and is an indicator of rainfall that has been well studied and applied to many areas, and its climatic meaning is well known. CI values are minimal in the northern region of the Iberian Peninsula and maximal in the east. For the spatial behavior, it exists a good negative correlation between D and CI but that increases when calculated as a spatial correlation.

Keywords:

Temporal fractality, self-similarity, precipitation, concentration index, mainland Spain