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Daily precipitation intensity projected for the 21st century: seasonal changes over the Pyrenees

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Abstract

A set of climate parameters (mean precipitation, number of wet days, daily intensity, and number of days with more than 50 mm rainfall) and a quantile-based approach are used to assess the expected changes in daily precipitation characteristics over the Pyrenees predicted for the 21st century using a set of regional climate models (RCMs). The features of the geographic location and topography of the Pyrenees imply that the climate of the region is highly complex. The results point toward an intensification of extremes, with a generalized tendency toward increasing drought periods, an increasing trend in daily intensity, and an increasing contribution of intense events to total precipitation; however, the results are subject to substantial spatial and seasonal variability, mainly related to the Atlantic-Mediterranean gradient and the longitudinal disposition of the main axis of the range.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the projects PROBASE: CGL2006-11619 and CANOA: CGL 2004-04919-c02-01, both financed by the Spanish Commission of Science and Technology (Ministry of Education and Science) and FEDER. Research undertaken by the first author was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. Authors gratefully acknowledge access to PRUDENCE data set that were used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Climatic Change and Climate Impacts Group, University of Geneve, Batelle-D 7, Chemin de Drize, 1227, Carouge, Geneve, Switzerland

    J. I. López-Moreno & M. Beniston

  2. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC, Campus de Aula Dei, PO Box 202, Zaragoza, 50080, Spain

    J. I. López-Moreno

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  1. J. I. López-Moreno
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  2. M. Beniston
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Correspondence to J. I. López-Moreno.

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López-Moreno, J.I., Beniston, M. Daily precipitation intensity projected for the 21st century: seasonal changes over the Pyrenees. Theor Appl Climatol 95, 375–384 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-008-0015-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-008-0015-7

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