Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends
In recent decades, a decrease in snowfall attributed to the effects of global warming (among other causes) has become evident. However, it is reasonable to investigate meteorological causes for such decrease, by analyzing changes in synoptic scale patterns. On the Iberian Peninsula, the Castilla y L...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2014-01-01
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| Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/480275 |
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| author | Andrés Merino Sergio Fernández Lucía Hermida Laura López José Luis Sánchez Eduardo García-Ortega Estíbaliz Gascón |
| author_facet | Andrés Merino Sergio Fernández Lucía Hermida Laura López José Luis Sánchez Eduardo García-Ortega Estíbaliz Gascón |
| author_sort | Andrés Merino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, a decrease in snowfall attributed to the effects of global warming (among other causes) has become evident. However, it is reasonable to investigate meteorological causes for such decrease, by analyzing changes in synoptic scale patterns. On the Iberian Peninsula, the Castilla y León region in the northwest consists of a central plateau surrounded by mountain ranges. This creates snowfalls that are considered both an important water resource and a transportation risk. In this work, we develop a classification of synoptic situations that produced important snowfalls at observation stations in the major cities of Castilla y León from 1960 to 2011. We used principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster techniques to define four synoptic patterns conducive to snowfall in the region. Once we confirmed homogeneity of the series and serial correlation of the snowfallday records at the stations from 1960 to 2011, we carried out a Mann-Kendall test. The results show a negative trend at most stations, so there are a decreased number of snowfall days. Finally, variations in these meteorological variables were related to changes in the frequencies of snow events belonging to each synoptic pattern favorable for snowfall production at the observatory locations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7eb3cbdbe55e463eb6ea23c085ba3920 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2356-6140 1537-744X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Scientific World Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-7eb3cbdbe55e463eb6ea23c085ba39202025-02-03T05:59:40ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal2356-61401537-744X2014-01-01201410.1155/2014/480275480275Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day TrendsAndrés Merino0Sergio Fernández1Lucía Hermida2Laura López3José Luis Sánchez4Eduardo García-Ortega5Estíbaliz Gascón6University of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainUniversity of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainUniversity of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainUniversity of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainUniversity of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainUniversity of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainUniversity of León, Instituto de Medio Ambiente (IMA), 24006 León, SpainIn recent decades, a decrease in snowfall attributed to the effects of global warming (among other causes) has become evident. However, it is reasonable to investigate meteorological causes for such decrease, by analyzing changes in synoptic scale patterns. On the Iberian Peninsula, the Castilla y León region in the northwest consists of a central plateau surrounded by mountain ranges. This creates snowfalls that are considered both an important water resource and a transportation risk. In this work, we develop a classification of synoptic situations that produced important snowfalls at observation stations in the major cities of Castilla y León from 1960 to 2011. We used principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster techniques to define four synoptic patterns conducive to snowfall in the region. Once we confirmed homogeneity of the series and serial correlation of the snowfallday records at the stations from 1960 to 2011, we carried out a Mann-Kendall test. The results show a negative trend at most stations, so there are a decreased number of snowfall days. Finally, variations in these meteorological variables were related to changes in the frequencies of snow events belonging to each synoptic pattern favorable for snowfall production at the observatory locations.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/480275 |
| spellingShingle | Andrés Merino Sergio Fernández Lucía Hermida Laura López José Luis Sánchez Eduardo García-Ortega Estíbaliz Gascón Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends The Scientific World Journal |
| title | Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends |
| title_full | Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends |
| title_fullStr | Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends |
| title_full_unstemmed | Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends |
| title_short | Snowfall in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Their Influence on Snow Day Trends |
| title_sort | snowfall in the northwest iberian peninsula synoptic circulation patterns and their influence on snow day trends |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/480275 |
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