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Inconsistency in rainfall characteristics estimated from records of different rain gauges

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Abstract

The goal of this work is to assess the effect of utilizing different types of tipping bucket rain gauges in investigating rainfall characteristics. A dual tipping bucket (TB) rain gauge station is installed in the upper catchment of Numan basin in Saudi Arabia. The main difference between the two gauges is that the Hydrological Services (HS) gauge is equipped with a siphon tube which reduces undercatchment particularly during heavy rainfall. Records of both gauges for the period 2006 to 2013 are collected, analyzed, and compared, focusing on the characteristics of rainfall events as well as rainfall temporal variability. The HS gauge recorded higher values of total rainfall depth compared to the Texas Electronics (TEMM) gauge. For the individual storms as well as the 5-min rainfall, HS gauge also reported higher mean rainfall depths. Regarding temporal characteristics of reported rainfall, no significant variations are observed between the values of storm duration of the two gauges. The TEMM gauge has the advantage of recoding more storms with depth less than 1 mm. The current study suggests the use of a corrective factor for rainfall record of the TEMM gauge.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, under grant no. 155-012-D1434. The authors, therefore, acknowledge with thanks DSR technical and financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrology, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80208, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    A. S. Al-Wagdany

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  1. A. S. Al-Wagdany
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Correspondence to A. S. Al-Wagdany.

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Al-Wagdany, A.S. Inconsistency in rainfall characteristics estimated from records of different rain gauges. Arab J Geosci 9, 410 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2425-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2425-7

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