Advances in Geosciences www.adv-geosci.net 1680-7340 1680-7359 16 Observation, Prediction and Verification of Precipitation (EGU Session 2007) 2008 10.5194/adgeo-16-49-2008 http://www.adv-geosci.net/16/49/2008/ http://www.adv-geosci.net/16/49/2008/adgeo-16-49-2008.html http://www.adv-geosci.net/16/49/2008/adgeo-16-49-2008.pdf 49 54 2008-04-09 Iberian autumnal precipitation characterization through observed, simulated and reanalysed data A. Morata M. Y. Luna yluna@inm.es M. L. Martín M. G. Sotillo F. Valero Instituto Nacional de Meteorología, Leonardo Prieto Castro, 8, 28040 Madrid, Spain Dpto. Matemática Aplicada, Escuela Universitaria de Informática, Campus de Segovia. Universidad de Valladolid, Pza. Sta. Eulalia, 9–11, 40005 Segovia, Spain Área de Medio Físico, Organismo P\'{u}blico Puertos del Estado (PdE), Av. Partenón, 10, 28042 Madrid, Spain Dpto. Astrofísica y CC, de la Atmósfera, Facultad de CC Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain A 44-year (1958–2001) homogeneous Mediterranean high-resolution atmospheric database was generated through dynamical downscaling within the HIPOCAS Project framework. The present work attempts to provide a validation of the monthly 41-autumnal (1961–2001) HIPOCAS precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula, being also provided an evaluation of its improvement versus current global reanalysis data sets. A statistical comparative analysis between observed, HIPOCAS and global reanalyses precipitation data sets was carried out, highlighting the noticeable agreement existing between the observed and the HIPOCAS precipitation data sets in terms of not only time and spatial distribution, but also in terms of total amount of precipitation. A principal component analysis is carried out showing that the patterns derived from the HIPOCAS data largely capture the main characteristics of the studied field. Moreover, it is worth to note that the HIPOCAS patterns reproduce accurately the observed regional characteristics linked to the main orographic features of the study domain. Gibson, J. K., Kallberg, P., Uppala, S., Hernandez, A., \~Nomura, A., and Serrano, E.: ERA description, Technical Report Re-analysis Project Report Series 1, ECMWF, Reading, UK, 1997. Grossmand, A. and Morlet, J.: Decomposition of Hardy functions into square integrable wavelets of constant shape, SIAM J. Math. Anal., 15, 732–736, 1984. IPCC Technical Summary: Climate Change, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, in: A Report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: McCarthy, J. J., Canziani, O. F., Leary, N. A., Dokken, D. J., and White, K. S., Cambridge University Press, 1000 pp., 2001. Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, D., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, S., White, G., Woolen, J., Zhu, Y., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W., Janowiak, J., Mo, K. C., Kopelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetmaa, A., Reynolds, R., Jeene, R. and Jsoseph, D.: The NCEP/NCAR 40-years Reanalysis, Project, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 77(3), 437–471, 1996. Luna, M. Y. and Almarza, C.: Interpolation of 1961–2002 daily climatic data in Spain. Spatial Interpolation in Climatology and Meteorology, Proceedings from the Conference on Spatial Interpolation in Climatology and Meteorology. Budapest, 25–29~October~2004, edited by: Szalai, S., Bihari, Z., Szentimrey, T., and Lakatos, M., COST Office (ISBN 92-898-0033-X), 189–196, 2007. Ratsimandresy, A. W., Sotillo, M. G., Carretero, J. C., Álvarez, E., and Hajji, H.: A 44-year high-resolution ocean and Atmospheric hindcast from the Mediterranean basin Developed within the HIPOCAS Project, Coastal Engineering, accepted, 2008. Serrano, A., García, J. E., Mateos, V. L., Cancillo, M. L., and Garrido, J.: Monthly modes of variation of precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula, J. Climate, 12, 2894–2919, 1999. Sotillo, M. G., Ratsimandresy, A. W., Carretero, J. C., Bentamy, A., Valero, F., and González-Rouco, J. F.: A high-resolution 44-year atmospheric hindcast for the Mediterranean Basin: Contribution to the regional improvement of global reanalysis, Clim. Dyn., 25, 219–236, 2005. Sotillo, M. G., Martin, M. L., Valero F., and Luna, M. Y.: Validation of a homogeneous 41-year (1961–2001) winter precipitation hindcasted dataset over Ibserian Peninsula: assessment of the regional improvement of global reanalysis, Clim. Dyn., 27, 627–645, 2006a. Sotillo, M. G., Martin, M. L., Valero, F., and Luna, M. Y.: Regional improvement of global reanalyses by means of a new long-term Mediterranean hindcasted precipitation dataset: a first study over the Iberian Peninsula, Adv. Geosci., 7, 307–311, 2006b.