Hydrologic homogeneous regions using monthly Streamflow in Turkey

Cluster analysis of gauged streamflow records into homogeneous and robust regions is an important tool for the characterization of hydrologic systems. In this paper we applied the hierarchical cluster analysis to the task of objectively classifying streamflow data into regions encompassing similar streamflow patterns over Turkey. The performance of three standardization techniques was also tested, and standardizing by range was found better than standardizing with zero mean and unit variance. Clustering was carried out using Ward’s minimum variance method which became prominent in managing water resources with squared Euclidean dissimilarity measures on 80 streamflow stations. The stations have natural flow regimes where no intensive river regulation had occurred. A general conclusion drawn is that the zones having similar streamflow pattern were not be overlapped well with the conventional climate zones of Turkey; however, they are coherent with the climate zones of Turkey recently redefined by the cluster analysis to total precipitation data as well as homogenous streamflow zones of Turkey determined by the rotated principal component analysis. The regional streamflow information in this study can significantly improve the accuracy of flow predictions in ungauged watersheds

Euro area banking sector integration: using hierarchical cluster analysis techniques

In this study we apply cluster analysis techniques, including a novel smoothing method, to detect some basic patterns and trends in the euro area banking sector in terms of the degree of homogeneity of countries. We find that in the period 1998-2004 the banking sectors in the euro area countries seem to have become somewhat more homogeneous, although the results are not unequivocal and considerable differences remain, leaving scope for further integration. In terms of clustering, the Western and Central European countries (like Germany, France, Belgium, and to some extent also the Netherlands, Austria and Italy) tend to cluster together, while Spain and Portugal and more recently also Greece usually are in the same distinct cluster. Ireland and Finland form separate clusters, but overall tend to be closer to the Western and Central European cluster. JEL Classification: C49, F36, G21banking sector, cluster analysis, financial integration