Spatial distribution of temporal precipitation contrasts in South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Botai, Mihloti Christina
dc.contributor.author Botai, Joel Ongego
dc.contributor.author Adeola, Abiodun Morakinyo
dc.date.accessioned 2019-03-14T08:20:54Z
dc.date.available 2019-03-14T08:20:54Z
dc.date.issued 2018-07-30
dc.description.abstract The focus of the present study was to investigate the spatial-temporal variability and trends of precipitation concentration across South Africa using the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 version 7 satellite precipitation data sets spanning 1998–2015. In the analysis, the precipitation concentration index (PCI) was used to infer the variability of temporal precipitation contrasts and the spatial distributions at annual, seasonal and supra-seasonal timescales. The results indicate that precipitation concentration across South Africa exhibits noticeable spatial-temporal variability. In terms of PCI classification criteria, the precipitation distribution ranges from relatively uniform (mainly in the central and southern interior of South Africa) to highly irregular (especially to the northeastern and western parts of South Africa) at annual timescales. At seasonal timescales, the precipitation distribution is uniform during December–February season, moderate during March–May and September–November seasons while during the June–August season, the precipitation distribution is highly irregular. Furthermore, during the 1998–2015 period, there exists a spatial and temporal pattern of PCI trends which are generally statistically insignificant. The PCI analysis results reported in this study are essential because they provide valuable information on the longterm total variability in the precipitation records across South Africa. In particular, this study contributes towards evaluating the spatial contrasts or concentration of the different accumulated amounts of the received precipitation. Results from this study have important scientific and practical applications in hydrological hazard risks (floods and droughts) and soil erosion monitoring. SIGNIFICANCE : • Precipitation concentration exhibits spatial-temporal variability. • At an annual timescale, precipitation concentration is highly irregular in most parts of the country. • Precipitation concentration distribution varies across seasons. en_ZA
dc.description.department Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology en_ZA
dc.description.librarian am2019 en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://www.sajs.co.za en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Botai CM, Botai JO, Adeola AM. Spatial distribution of temporal precipitation contrasts in South Africa. South African Journal of Science 2018;114(7/8), Art. #2017-0391, 9 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/10.17159/sajs.2018/20170391. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0038-2353 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1996-7489 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.17159/sajs.2018/20170391
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/68659
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Academy of Science of South Africa en_ZA
dc.rights © 2018. The Author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence. en_ZA
dc.subject Spatial-temporal variation en_ZA
dc.subject Rainfall intensity en_ZA
dc.subject Trends analysis en_ZA
dc.subject Rainfall variability en_ZA
dc.subject Precipitation concentration index (PCI) en_ZA
dc.subject Scales en_ZA
dc.subject Tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) en_ZA
dc.subject Patterns en_ZA
dc.subject Trends en_ZA
dc.subject Climate change projections en_ZA
dc.title Spatial distribution of temporal precipitation contrasts in South Africa en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


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