Spatial and temporal variation in precipitation pattern

Kaur, Harpreet

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/78290 Copy

Description

Title

Spatial and temporal variation in precipitation pattern

Author(s)

Kaur, Harpreet

Issue Date

2015-01-14

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Kumar, Praveen

Committee Member(s)

Kumar, Praveen

Department of Study

Civil & Environmental Eng

Discipline

Environ Engr in Civil Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• precipitation probability
• Intensification of hydrological cycle

Abstract

The intensification of hydrological cycle and its nature is an important question in hydrology. The human activities are a major cause of change in hydrological cycle. The fluctuations in hydrological cycle can influence the dynamics of ecosystem. The changes in global water cycle and the corresponding redistribution of precipitation is a threat to food availability, stability, access and utilization. The droughts as well as floods have increased in number and scale. The effect of climate change can be seen by understanding the changes in trends of evaporation, precipitation, temperature and increase in level of water as well as salinity in seas as well as oceans. There has been extensive climate change in North America. The major impacts of climate change in North America are sea level rise, wildfire and insect outbreaks, increased risk of deaths due to heat waves and degraded water quality, diminishing snowfields and increase in precipitation. There is increase in intensity as well as frequency of precipitation in North America. Studies have been focused on extreme precipitation and extreme dry days as well as timing of precipitation. In this study the focus is on change in precipitation probability and persistence of wet days and dry spells over contiguous US and south Canada. There is a paucity of empirical evidence for this study. We are studying the pattern of rain and no-rain statistics analyzed over decadal time scale to identify any statistically significant temporal patterns of change using observed data. The year is divided into four seasons and all the comparisons are made seasonal as well as yearly. The day with a precipitation greater than 0.1 mm is considered as a rainy day. Here we show that precipitation probability and persistence of wet days has generally increased throughout the study area with the exception of a few stations. This study also presents the variation of magnitude of precipitation as well as its seasonal distribution in Minnesota River Basin. The motivation for the study is the sediment increment in Minnesota River. We anticipate that the northwestern and north eastern US have undergone a major change. The amount of precipitation received by these areas is already high; this means wet days are getting wetter.

Graduation Semester

2015-5

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/78290

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Harpreet Kaur

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