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Spatiotemporal characteristics and synchronization of extreme rainfall in South America with focus on the Andes Mountain range

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Abstract

The South American Andes are frequently exposed to intense rainfall events with varying moisture sources and precipitation-forming processes. In this study, we assess the spatiotemporal characteristics and geographical origins of rainfall over the South American continent. Using high-spatiotemporal resolution satellite data (TRMM 3B42 V7), we define four different types of rainfall events based on their (1) high magnitude, (2) long temporal extent, (3) large spatial extent, and (4) high magnitude, long temporal and large spatial extent combined. In a first step, we analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of these events over the entire South American continent and integrate their impact for the main Andean hydrologic catchments. Our results indicate that events of type 1 make the overall highest contributions to total seasonal rainfall (up to \(50\,\%\)). However, each consecutive episode of the infrequent events of type 4 still accounts for up to \(20\,\%\) of total seasonal rainfall in the subtropical Argentinean plains. In a second step, we employ complex network theory to unravel possibly non-linear and long-ranged climatic linkages for these four event types on the high-elevation Altiplano-Puna Plateau as well as in the main river catchments along the foothills of the Andes. Our results suggest that one to two particularly large squall lines per season, originating from northern Brazil, indirectly trigger large, long-lasting thunderstorms on the Altiplano Plateau. In general, we observe that extreme rainfall in the catchments north of approximately \(20^{\circ }\)S typically originates from the Amazon Basin, while extreme rainfall at the eastern Andean foothills south of \(20^{\circ }\)S and the Puna Plateau originates from southeastern South America.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was developed within the scope of the IRTG 1740/TRP 2011/50151-0, funded by the DFG/FAPESP. JK acknowledges financial support from the Government of the Russian Federation (Agreement No. 14.Z50.31.0033). Computations were performed with the IBM iDataPlex Cluster at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The TRMM 3B42 V7 data are available at http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gesNews/trmm_v7_multisat_precip.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegraphenberg A 31, 14473, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

    Niklas Boers, Norbert Marwan & Jürgen Kurths

  2. Department of Physics, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Niklas Boers & Jürgen Kurths

  3. Institute of Earth- and Environmental Sciences, University of Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

    Bodo Bookhagen

  4. Department of Control Theory, Nizhny Novgorod State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

    Jürgen Kurths

  5. Institute for Complex Systems and Mathematical Biology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

    Jürgen Kurths

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  1. Niklas Boers
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Correspondence to Niklas Boers.

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Boers, N., Bookhagen, B., Marwan, N. et al. Spatiotemporal characteristics and synchronization of extreme rainfall in South America with focus on the Andes Mountain range. Clim Dyn 46, 601–617 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2601-6

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