A single scaling parameter as a first approximation to describe the rainfall pattern of a place: application on Catalonia

As well as in other natural processes, it has been frequently observed that the phenomenon arising from the rainfall generation process presents fractal self-similarity of statistical type, and thus, rainfall series generally show scaling properties. Based on this fact, there is a methodology, simple scaling, which is used quite broadly to find or reproduce the intensity–duration–frequency curves of a place. In the present work, the relationship of the simple scaling parameter with the characteristic rainfall pattern of the area of study has been investigated. The calculation of this scaling parameter has been performed from 147 daily rainfall selected series covering the temporal period between 1883 and 2016 over the Catalonian territory (Spain) and its nearby surroundings, and a discussion about the relationship between the scaling parameter spatial distribution and rainfall pattern, as well as about trends of this scaling parameter over the past decades possibly due to climate change, has been presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Quality control process of the daily rainfall series available in Catalonia from 1855 to the present

The quality control of weather data is a necessity and a responsibility of meteorological services that store, distribute, and use these data. In the present work, a newly designed quality control procedure for daily rainfall data is presented after it has been adjusted and tested with more than 10^7 data from 1726 daily rainfall measurement sites in Catalonia. It is applicable to data from different origins (e.g., automatic weather stations or manual historical measurements). The procedure is focused on relative comparison of daily data with reference stations that are automatically selected after an initial estimation of their quality and a proximity study regarding location and correlation. The presented procedure has been verified taking advantage of an available network in the study area that has been routinely quality controlled by technicians of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia. The newly designed quality control procedure for daily precipitation yields good results, especially for extreme values: type I error under 10% is found for values up to 150 mm (error decreasing for lower values) and type II error is under 16% when reported values are twice a measure of 50 mm or more (error decreasing for more extreme values). After the application of the quality control procedure, a selection of series with the minimum desired quality is achieved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Analysis of extreme rainfall in Barcelona using a microscale rain gauge network

Extreme storms registered by the urban rain gauge network installed and supported by CLABSA (Clavegueram de Barcelona S. A.) in Barcelona in the period 1994–2001 have been investigated. Eleven rain events presenting intensities for durations between 5 min and 24 h with return periods equal to or larger than 5 years for any of the network gauges have been found. A cluster analysis has yielded four main classes of extreme rainfall events in this area, related to the meteorological scales involved: local (18%), mesoscale (37%) and synoptic storms (27%), as well as more complex rain events originated by multiscale mechanisms acting together (18%). An intensity index to classify extreme rainfall events in order to their complexity and severity, taking into account the contribution of the different scales implied in the rainfall processes, has been calculated. The frequency distribution of the intensity index values obtained for the urban network has resulted very similar to that calculated for rain data recorded by the Jard´ı gauge of the Observatory Fabra of Barcelona during 1927–1992 inclusive.Postprint (published version

An Approach for Constraint Based Heuristic Method of Generating Houses and Building Blueprints for Real-time Applications

Most city-generation computer graphic algorithmsare focused on creating exteriors by extruding some randomshapes. The problem with this approach is that the interiors areignored. This paper presents a series of algorithms and heuristicsto generate building blueprints of single or multi-floor houses.The type and cost of the building establish the lot space availablefor it. In the case of a single floor, rooms with their correspondingdoors and windows will be placed on the space randomly byfollowing a set of conditions that dictate where the rooms canbe placed with respect to each other. In the case of multiplefloors, the first floor contains public rooms only; the upper floorscontain private rooms. The algorithm’s output consists of a twodimensionaldrawing of the floor plans and a three-dimensionalmodel of the generated house. The experiments show that thisalgorithm can generate a large number of houses in a shortperiod of time

Multifractal analysis of the rainfall time distribution on the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Spain)

In most of the studies on scale properties in the rainfall process, multifractal behavior has been investigated without taking into account the different rain generation mechanisms involved. However, it is known that rain processes are related to certain scales, determined by climatological characteristics as well as regional and local meteorological features. One of the implications derived from these correspondences is the possibility that the multifractal parameters of the rainfall could depend on the dominant precipitation generation mechanism. Fractal analysis techniques have been applied in this work to rainfall data recorded in the metropolitan area of Barcelona in the period 1994–2001, as well as to a selection of synoptic rainfall events registered in the same city in the period 1927–1992. The multifractal parameters obtained have been significantly different in each case probably showing the influence of the rain generation mechanisms involved. This influence has been revealed also in the analysis of the effects of seasonality on the multifractal behavior of rainfall in Barcelona.Postprint (published version

Inspecting zircon populations of the Iberian Pyrite Belt: tracking the Cadomian record of the South Portuguese Zone

AIMS OF THE MEETING: The scientific sessions will be focused on the Pan-African and Cadomian Orogenies recorded in North Africa and western Europe across the Ediacaran Cambrian transition and its bearing in the assembly and demise of Pannotia. Contributions dealing with structural, magmatic, provenance sources, palaeomagnetic, sedimentary, chronostratigraphic and radiometric constraints are particularly welcome. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: J. Javier Álvaro, Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC-UCM), Spain Martim Chichorro, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal Gabriel Gutiérrez-Alonso, Universidad de Salamanca.ABSTRACT: The palaeogeographic location of the southernmost zone of the Iberian Massif, the South Portuguese Zone (SPZ), prior to the amalgamation of Pangaea is still a matter of debate. In this work, we attempt to track its palaeogeographic setting during the final stages of the Cadomian Cycle.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Return period curves for extreme 5-min rainfall amounts at the Barcelona urban network

Heavy rainfall episodes are relatively common in the conurbation of Barcelona and neighbouring cities (NE Spain), usually due to storms generated by convective phenomena in summer and eastern and south-eastern advections in autumn. Prevention of local flood episodes and right design of urban drainage have to take into account the rainfall intensity spread instead of a simple evaluation of daily rainfall amounts. The database comes from 5-min rain amounts recorded by tipping buckets in the Barcelona urban network along the years 1994–2009. From these data, extreme 5-min rain amounts are selected applying the peaks-over-threshold method for thresholds derived from both 95% percentile and the mean excess plot. The return period curves are derived from their statistical distribution for every gauge, describing with detail expected extreme 5-min rain amounts across the urban network. These curves are compared with those derived from annual extreme time series. In this way, areas in Barcelona submitted to different levels of flood risk from the point of view of rainfall intensity are detected. Additionally, global time trends on extreme 5-min rain amounts are quantified for the whole network and found as not statistically significant.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Different meanings for cummingtonite-hornblende association in plutonic rocks (Iberian Massif, Portugal)

Cummingtonite-grunerite series is frequently related with metamorphism or volcanic environments but rarely described as belonging to a plutonic assemblage [1]. Recently, in Iberian Massif (Portugal), there have been several references [2,3,4,5] of this Fe-Mg amphibole intimately associated with Ca amphiboles (mainly hornblende) on plutonic rocks. Different textural relations between two amphibole types have been argued to for a primary (igneous) or subsolidus metamorphic origin for Fe-Mg amphibole. Cummingtonite-grunerite (Cum, hereafter all abbreviation from [6]) from gabbros and diorites Carrascal Massif (Central Iberian Zone) occurs as tiny exsolution lamellae within a dominant hornblende (Hbl) crystal. Their textural occurrence agrees with the subsolidus growth of the Fe-Mg amphibole reflecting the equation Hbl+ Qtz= Cum + An + H2O [7]. Nevertheless, on Hospitais tonalite (Ossa-Morena Zone) Cum occur as euhedral to subhedral cores usually mantled by Hbl. Although seldom described in literature, Cum on Hospitais tonalite was interpreted as an igneous crystallizing early phase. As a consequence of the high water content of calc-alkaline magmas, the Fe-Mg amphibole should reflect the equation Opx+H2O = Cum+Mag+SiO2+H2 [8]. The similarity between Mg # on Cum and Hbl from tonalitic rocks suggests an equilibrium crystallizing assemblage as pointed by Wones and Gilbert [9] for a hypabyssal igneous suite. Considering that the Cum spectrum analyses from both occurrences exhibited a clear overlap; Carrascal gabbro-dorites (Mg#: 0.49-0.64; Al2O3: 0.7-2.37%; TiO2: 0.01-0.37%) and Hospitais tonalite (Mg#: 0.43-0.53; Al2O3: 1.22-2.44 %; TiO2; 0.05-0.27%), textural relations should be the main (only?) tool to decipher between igneous vs metamorphic growth. More detailed petrographic studies on plutonic rocks from Iberian Massif are needed to ascertain the petrogenetic significance of the association Cum-Hbl

Deciphering a multi-event in a non-complex set of detrital zircon U-Pb ages from Carboniferous graywackes of SW Iberia

The determination of U–Pb ages from detrital zircons of sedimentary rocks using LA-ICP-MS has been widely used for the purpose of provenance analysis. One problem that frequently arises is finding a population that appears to be non-complex despite several perceptible age peaks in its spectrum. These peaks are qualitatively defined by means of relative probability diagrams, or PDFs, but it is difficult to quantify their statistical significance relative to a zircon forming multi-event. Thus, can a multi-event in a non-complex set of detrital zircon U–Pb ages be deciphered and characterized? The aim of this study is to attempt to provide an answer to this question by means of statistical analysis. Its objectives are: a) to determine the best minimum number of zircon age populations (peaks), BmPs, b) for the characterization of each peak in terms of age and event duration; c) to compare the results obtained from two datasets showing similar zircon ages; and d) to demonstrate the usefulness of deciphering these BmPs. First, cluster analysis is carried out, aimed at grouping zircon ages into a set of consistent clusters. A Gaussian Kernel function is then fitted to each cluster and summed to obtain a theoretical PDFm (modeled probability density function). Finally, the selected modeled PDFm (that built on the BmPs) is that which reports the lowest number of peaks for which the difference as compared with the original gPDF (global probability density function) is equal to or below 5%. Deciphered BmP peaks can be characterized and used for characterizing and providing an understanding of related event(s). A geological interpretation, based on the results obtained, is attempted. This includes a robust measure for maximum age of deposition for both Cabrela and Mértola graywackes