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Wavelet entropy-based investigation into the daily precipitation variability in the Yangtze River Delta, China, with rapid urbanizations

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Abstract

In this paper, the daily precipitation data measured at 58 meteorological stations were used, and the spatial and temporal variability of daily precipitation and precipitation extrema in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) during 1958–2007 was investigated using the indicator of discrete wavelet entropy; then, the urbanization effects were further analyzed. Results indicate that the daily precipitation variability in YRD, especially in the mid YRD with highly urbanized city clusters, is determined by the comprehensive impacts of atmospheric circulation, urbanizations, and the Taihu Lake. Compared with the results in 1958–1985, the variability of daily precipitation and precipitation extrema becomes more complex in 1986–2007, and daily precipitation variability is more complex in the mid YRD relative to the north and south. The precipitation extrema with bigger magnitudes show more complex variability. Urbanizations cause more complexity and fluctuations of daily precipitation in the mid YRD in 1986–2007, reflecting more uncertainty of daily precipitation variability, while the urbanization effects vary with regions and precipitation magnitudes. The variability of precipitation extrema with maximum values is mainly determined by natural atmospheric circulation but has little relationship with urbanizations; however, the variability of those precipitation extrema with general values is determined by both urbanizations and the Taihu Lake in YRD over the last three decades.

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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledged the most appropriate comments and suggestions given by the Editor-in-Chief, Hartmut Graßl, and the anonymous reviewers. The author also thanked Ms. Feifei Liu for her assistance in preparation of the manuscript. This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 40971023) and the Water Resources Public-Welfare Projects (no. 200901042 and 201201072).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Water Cycle & Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yan-Fang Sang

  2. Center for Water Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yan-Fang Sang

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Correspondence to Yan-Fang Sang.

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Sang, YF. Wavelet entropy-based investigation into the daily precipitation variability in the Yangtze River Delta, China, with rapid urbanizations. Theor Appl Climatol 111, 361–370 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-012-0671-5

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