Precipitation is one of the atmospheric variables that characterize the climate of a region. The South Island of New Zealand (SI of NZ) has an unusually large number of distinct regional climates and its climatic diversity includes the coldest, wettest, driest and windiest places in New Zealand. This thesis focuses on identifying precipitation trends and rainfall fluctuations for the SI of NZ.
First, homogeneity of 184 precipitation series is assessed with the combination of three homogeneity tests (Standard Normal Homogeneity Test, Easterling & Peterson test, Vincent�s Multiple Linear Regression). More than 60% of tested time series are found to contain at least one inhomogeneity. About 50% of the inhomogeneities can be traced to information in the station history files with nearly 25% of all inhomogeneities caused by the relocation of the precipitation gauge.
Five coherent precipitation regions are defined by the Principal Component Analysis. The objective of identifying the periods of water deficit and surplus in spatial and temporal domains is achieved by using Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The SPI series (for 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 months time scales) are calculated for each region and used for analysis of dry and wet periods. Clear differences in the frequency, length and intensity of droughts and wet periods were found between individual regions. There is a positive (i.e. increase in wet periods) trend in SPI time series for the North, Westland and Southland regions during the 1921-2003 period at all times scales, and a negative trend for Canterbury during the same period. The results show longer wet periods than dry periods at all time scales.
Extreme heavy precipitation, which causes floods, is the most common type of natural disaster accounting for about 40% of all natural disasters worldwide. A set of ten extreme indices is calculated for 51 stations throughout the South Island for the period 1951-2003. The west-east division is found to be the dominant feature of extreme precipitation trends for all extreme indices with more frequent and more intense extreme precipitation in the west/southwest and with a declining trend in the east. The significant decrease in extreme precipitation frequency was detected in Canterbury with 3 days less of precipitation above the long-term 95th percentile by 2003 as compared to 1951.
The variability of precipitation, expressed by the SPI, is correlated with local New Zealand atmospheric circulation indices and large-scale teleconnections. The precipitation variability in the South Island is governed largely by the local circulation characteristics, mainly the strength and position of the westerly flow. The increase in precipitation in the West and SouthEast is associated with enhanced westerlies. The correlations between New Zealand�s circulation indices and regional SPI are seasonally robust. The SouthEast region exhibits a strong relationship with the Southern Oscillation Index on seasonal and annual time scales,and with Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation at the decadal scale. The predictability of seasonal precipitation one season ahead is very limited.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217701 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Mojzisek, Jan, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Department of Geography |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Jan Mojzisek |
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