Regionalization of precipitation in Switzerland by means of principal component analysis
Pierre-Alain Baeriswyl & Martine Rebetez
| Résumé |
The technique of principal component analysis and of cluster
analysis has been applied to two sets of precipitation data in
Switzerland, one containing 47 stations (1961-80), and the other
101 stations (1981-1993), with the aim of understanding more fully
the spatial distribution of precipitation regimes. Seven regions
were highlighted in the first case and 13 in the second. The high
spatial coherence which appeared is quite remarkable and confirms
the usefulness of these techniques for the analysis of the spatial
distribution of meteorological variables, even in a topographically
complex area such as Switzerland. The two regional distributions
obtained not only correspond fairly well to the large, well-known
physical regions of Switzerland, but also go much further,
separating the Swiss Plateau into 3 clearly differentiated regions,
for example. Regional distributions such as those discussed here can
have value for climate change issues, and in particular numerical
modeling of climate or climate change impacts on forests. |
| Mots-clés |
TEMPERATURE, RAINFALL, ROTATION, TRENDS, REGIONS, PERIOD, EUROPE |
| Citation | Baeriswyl, P. A., & Rebetez, M. (1997). Regionalization of precipitation in Switzerland by means of principal component analysis. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 58(1-2), 31-41. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Français) |
| Date de publication | 1997 |
| Nom du périodique | Theoretical and Applied Climatology |
| Volume | 58 |
| Numéro | 1-2 |
| Pages | 31-41 |