Spatio-temporal analysis of annual rainfall in Crete, Greece

Analysis of rainfall data from the island of Crete, Greece was performed to identify key hydrological years and return periods as well as to analyze the inter-annual behavior of the rainfall variability during the period 1981–2014. The rainfall spatial distribution was also examined in detail to ide...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta geophysica 2018-06, Vol.66 (3), p.319-328
Main Authors: Varouchakis, Emmanouil A., Corzo, Gerald A., Karatzas, George P., Kotsopoulou, Anastasia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annual rainfall
Climate models
Data analysis
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Geophysics/Geodesy
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydrologic data
Hydrology
Kriging interpolation
North Atlantic Oscillation
Rainfall
Rainfall data
Rainfall rate
Rainfall variability
Rainfall variations
Regional climate models
Regional climates
Regression analysis
Research Article - Special Issue
Seasonal variations
Spatial analysis
Spatial data
Spatial distribution
Spatial variability
Spectral analysis
Statistical analysis
Structural Geology
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Summary:Analysis of rainfall data from the island of Crete, Greece was performed to identify key hydrological years and return periods as well as to analyze the inter-annual behavior of the rainfall variability during the period 1981–2014. The rainfall spatial distribution was also examined in detail to identify vulnerable areas of the island. Data analysis using statistical tools and spectral analysis were applied to investigate and interpret the temporal course of the available rainfall data set. In addition, spatial analysis techniques were applied and compared to determine the rainfall spatial distribution on the island of Crete. The analysis presented that in contrast to Regional Climate Model estimations, rainfall rates have not decreased, while return periods vary depending on seasonality and geographic location. A small but statistical significant increasing trend was detected in the inter-annual rainfall variations as well as a significant rainfall cycle almost every 8 years. In addition, statistically significant correlation of the island’s rainfall variability with the North Atlantic Oscillation is identified for the examined period. On the other hand, regression kriging method combining surface elevation as secondary information improved the estimation of the annual rainfall spatial variability on the island of Crete by 70% compared to ordinary kriging. The rainfall spatial and temporal trends on the island of Crete have variable characteristics that depend on the geographical area and on the hydrological period.
ISSN:1895-6572
1895-7455
DOI:10.1007/s11600-018-0128-z