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Spatial correlation structure of monthly rainfall at a mesoscale region of north-eastern Bohemia

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Abstract

The spatial correlation structure of monthly rainfall was analysed using data from 38 rain gauges located in north-eastern Bohemia. Three different inter-station correlation measures—Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient and Kendall’s tau rank correlation coefficient—were estimated using monthly rainfall records from a recent 31-year period. Six different theoretical parametric correlation models were identified using the nonlinear least squares method. The spatial correlation structure was described using the fitted parameters. Comparison of estimated correlation models showed that, as measured by standard error, the best fitted was a two-parameter exponential model. The relationships between parameters of the exponential two-parameter model were further explored and described. The temporal variability of correlation showed trends in the fitted parameters over the studied period. On a seasonal basis, the correlation between the stations was stronger in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. The spatial variability of estimated parameters revealed that parameters of Matérn and two-parameter exponential models were dependent on altitude.

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Acknowledgements

The project was supported by the Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (No. 20124256). The data were provided by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI). We thank to reviewers for their comments which helped us to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6–Suchdol, 165 21, Czech Republic

    Vojtěch Svoboda, Petr Máca, Martin Hanel & Pavel Pech

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  1. Vojtěch Svoboda
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  2. Petr Máca
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Correspondence to Vojtěch Svoboda.

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Svoboda, V., Máca, P., Hanel, M. et al. Spatial correlation structure of monthly rainfall at a mesoscale region of north-eastern Bohemia. Theor Appl Climatol 121, 359–375 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1241-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1241-9

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