| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Traxl, D.
;
Boers, N.
;
Rheinwalt, A.
;
Goswami, B.
;
Kurths, J.
Total Authors: 5
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Geophysical Research Letters; v. 43, n. 18, p. 9939-9947, SEP 28 2016. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 5 |
| Abstract | |
The scaling behavior of rainfall has been extensively studied both in terms of event magnitudes and in terms of spatial extents of the events. Different heavy-tailed distributions have been proposed as candidates for both instances, but statistically rigorous treatments are rare. Here we combine the domains of event magnitudes and event area sizes by a spatiotemporal integration of 3-hourly rain rates corresponding to extreme events derived from the quasi-global high-resolution rainfall product Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42. A maximum likelihood evaluation reveals that the distribution of spatiotemporally integrated extreme rainfall cluster sizes over the oceans is best described by a truncated power law, calling into question previous statements about scale-free distributions. The observed subpower law behavior of the distribution's tail is evaluated with a simple generative model, which indicates that the exponential truncation of an otherwise scale-free spatiotemporal cluster size distribution over the oceans could be explained by the existence of land masses on the globe. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 11/50151-0 - Dynamical phenomena in complex networks: fundamentals and applications |
| Grantee: | Elbert Einstein Nehrer Macau |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Projects - Thematic Grants |