P RE C I P IT A T IO N

D I ST R I B U T I ON
PRECIPITATION DISTRIBUTION

THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION FALLING OVER A LOCATION

VARIES BOTH SPATIALLY AND TEMPORARILY (WITH TIME).
THE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES ON THE PRECIPITATION CAN BE
DIVIDED INTO STATIC AND DYNAMIC INFLUENCES.
-STATIC INFLUENCES ARE THOSE SUCH AS ALTITUDE, ASPECT AND SLOPE
-DYNAMIC INFLUENCES ARE THOSE THAT DO CHANGE AND LARGE CAUSED BY
VARIATIONS IN THE WEATHER.
THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT DETERMINE HOW MUCH
PRECIPITATION A REGION WILL RECEIVE. ONE IMPORTANT
FACTOR IS THE GLOBAL CLIMATE PATTERN DRIVEN BY THE
TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND
THE POLES.

 
•AT THE EQUATOR THE EARTH RECEIVES INTENSE SOLAR
RADIATION, CAUSING INCREASED EVAPORATION. THIS
MOIST, WARM AIR RISES, EVENTUALLY COOLING AND
CONDENSING TO FORM CLOUDS THAT PRODUCE
ABUNDANT RAINFALL IN EQUATORIAL REGIONS
ONCE THE RISING AIR MASS LOSES ITS WATER, CAUSING IT
TO COOL EVEN MORE, IT BECOMES DENSER AND THUS HAS A
HIGHER AIR PRESSURE. THIS DENSE, HIGH PRESSURE AIR
CIRCULATES NORTH OR SOUTH AND SINKS AT 30 DEGREES
NORTH OR SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR.
THE FALLING DRY AIR HEATS AS IT DESCENDS, FORMING
THE WORLD’S MAJOR DESERT REGIONS SUCH AS THE
SAHARA, THE ATACAMA, AND THE NAMIB AT 30 DEGREES
NORTH AND SOUTH LATITUDE.
STATIC INFLUENCES ON PRECIPITATION DISTRIBUTION
STATIC INFLUENCES ON PRECIPITATION DISTRIBUTION

•ALTITUDE
• IT HAS ALREADY BEEN EXPLAINED THAT THE TEMPERATURE IS A
CRITICAL FACTOR IN CONTROLLING THE AMOUNT OF WATER VAPOUR
THAT CAN BE HELD BY AIR. THE COOLER THE AIR IS, THE LESS WATER
VAPOUR CAN BE HELD. AS TEMPERATURE DECREASES WITH ALTITUDE
IT IS REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT AS AN AIR
TEMPERATURE DECREASES WITH ALTITUDE IT IS REASONABLE
TO ASSUME THAT AS AN AIR PARCEL GAINS ALTITUDE IT IS
MORE LIKELY TO RELEASE THE WATER VAPOUR AND CAUSE
HIGHER RAINFALL. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT DOES HAPPEN AND
THERE IS A STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN ALTITUDE AND
RAINFALL: SO-CALLED OROGRAPHIC PRECIPITATION.
STATIC INFLUENCES ON PRECIPITATION DISTRIBUTION

•ASPECT
•THE INFLUENCE OF ASPECT IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN
ALTITUDE BUT IT MAY STILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART
IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION
THROUGHOUT CATCHMENT.
•IN THE HUMID MID-LATITUDES (35 DEGREES TO
65 DEGREES NORTH OR SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR)
THE PREDOMINANT SOURCE OF RAINFALL IS
THROUGH ARRIVING FROM WEST.
•SLOPES WITHIN A CATCHMENT THAT FACE
EASTWARDS WILL NATURALLY BE MORE
SHELTERED FROM THE RAIN THAN THOSE
FACING WESTWARDS.
•SLOPES WITH ASPECTS FACING AWAY FROM
THE PREDOMINANT WEATHER PATTERNS WILL
RECEIVE LESS RAINFALL THAN THEIR
OPPOSITES.
STATIC INFLUENCES ON PRECIPITATION DISTRIBUTION

• SLOPE
• THE INFLUENCE OF SLOPE IS ONLY RELEVANT AT A VERY SMALL SCALE. UNFORTUNATELY THE MEASUREMENT OF
RAINFALL OCCURS AT A VERY SMALL SCALE (I.E. RAIN GAUGE). THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LEVEL RAIN GAUGE
ON A HILLSLOPE, COMPARED TO ONE PARALLEL TO THE SLOPE, MAY BE SIGNIFICANT. IT IS POSSIBLE TO
CALCULATE THIS DIFFERENCE IF IT IS ASSUMED THAT RAINS FALLS VERTICALLY. CONSEQUENTLY THE EFFECT OF
SLOPE ON RAINFALL MEASUREMENTS IS NORMALLY IGNORED.
RAIN SHADOW EFFECT
• A RAIN SHADOW IS A DRY AREA ON THE LEEWARD SIDE OF A MOUNTAINOUS AREA (AWAY FROM THE
WIND). THE MOUNTAINS BLOCK THE PASSAGE OF RAIN-PRODUCING WEATHER SYSTEMS AND CAST A
"SHADOW" OF DRYNESS BEHIND THEM. WIND AND MOIST AIR IS DRAWN BY THE PREVAILING WINDS
TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAINS, WHERE IT CONDENSES AND PRECIPITATES BEFORE IT CROSSES
THE TOP. THE AIR, WITHOUT MUCH MOISTURE LEFT, ADVANCES ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS CREATING A
DRIER SIDE CALLED THE "RAIN SHADOW".
ILLUSTRATION OF RAIN SHADOW EFFECT
FOREST RAINFALL PARTITIONING
•THROUGHFALL
•STEAMFLOW
•INTERCEPTION LOSS
THROUGHFALL
THIS IS THE WATER THAT FALLS TO THE GROUND EITHER

DIRECTLY, THROUGH GAPS IN THE CANOPY, OR INDIRECTLY,

HAVING DRIPPED OFF LEAVES, STEMS OR BRANCHES. THE

AMOUNT OF DIRECT THROUGHFALL IS CONTROLLED BY THE

• CANOPY COVERAGE FOR AN AREA

ILLUSTRATION OF THROUGHFALL
STEMFLOW

•STEMFLOW IS THE RAINFALL THAT IS INTERCEPTED

BY STEMS AND BRANCHES AND FLOWS DOWN THE
TREE TRUNK INTO THE SOIL.
ILLUSTRATION OF STEAMFLOW
INTERCEPTION
INTERCEPTION
• STORAGE OF WATER ABOVE THE GROUND SURFACE, MOSTLY IN
VEGETATION
• WHERE VEGETATION IS PRESENT, PRECIPITATION CONSISTS OF :
•GROSS RAINFALL MEASURED ABOVE THE CANOPY OR IN OPENINGS IN A
FOREST
•THROUGHFALL: WATER THAT FALLS BETWEEN PLANTS,
•DRIPPAGE: OF WATER FROM THE PLANTS TO THE GROUNDS, AND
•STEMFLOW: FLOW OF WATER DOWN STEMS AND TRUNKS
•PART OF THE PRECIPITATION ON
THE CANOPY THAT DOESN'T
REACH THE GROUND, BECAUSE IT
EVAPORATES FROM THE CANOPY
AND FROM NEAR-GROUND PLANTS
AND LEAF LITTER OR, TO A LESSER
EXTENT, IS ABSORBED BY PLANTS

INTERCEPTION LOSS
SIGNIFICANCE OF INTERCEPTION AND INTERCEPTION
LOSS
BY HOW MUCH DOES INTERCEPTION LOSS REDUCE INPUTS TO THE BASIN HYDROLOGICAL
CYCLE?

• NOT MUCH BECAUSE INTERCEPTION LOSS IS OFFSET BY DECREASED TRANSPIRATION

• INTERCEPTION LOSS REPRESENTS A NET LOSS OF WATER
• HORIZONTAL INTERCEPTION REPRESENTS AN ADDITIONAL INPUT OF WATER TO
COASTAL FORESTS
IMPORTANCE OF INTERCEPTION
• USUALLY RESULTS IN A NET LOSS OF WATER AVAILABLE TO THE BASIN
HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
• LOWERS THE INTENSITY OF PRECIPITATION
• WASHES SOLID PARTICLES AND DISSOLVED CARBON FROM LEAVES
AFFECTING SOIL AND WATER CHEMISTRY AND WEATHERING PROCESSES