The spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation over a given region results from several complex causes and interacting processes that are themselves time and space dependent. Therefore any discussion of precipitation distribution must of necessity address these variations both in time and space. This can be accomplished by examining the major features of global patterns of precipitation and the factors that combine to influence those patterns, by looking at seasonal variations in precipitation distribution to discern major seasonal regimes and their forcing mechanisms, by considering the nature and causes of the diurnal distribution, and, finally, by examining distribution from a statistical perspective rather than from a purely climatological one. In this last case, distribution characteristics such as variability, persistence, frequency, and intensity become important.
The distribution pattern of precipitation is considerably more complex that either temperature or global...
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© 1987 Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Granger, O.E. (1987). Precipitation distribution. In: Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30749-4_140
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30749-4_140
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