Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are narrow and elongated regions of enhanced horizontal water vapour transport. Considerable research on understanding Northern Hemisphere ARs and their relationship with extreme precipitation has shown that ARs have a strong association with heavy rainfall and flooding. Whi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abeae0 |
| _version_ | 1827870287608152064 |
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| author | Kimberley J Reid Suzanne M Rosier Luke J Harrington Andrew D King Todd P Lane |
| author_facet | Kimberley J Reid Suzanne M Rosier Luke J Harrington Andrew D King Todd P Lane |
| author_sort | Kimberley J Reid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are narrow and elongated regions of enhanced horizontal water vapour transport. Considerable research on understanding Northern Hemisphere ARs and their relationship with extreme precipitation has shown that ARs have a strong association with heavy rainfall and flooding. While there has been very little work on ARs in the Southern Hemisphere, global climatologies suggest that ARs are equally as common in both hemispheres. New Zealand in particular is located in a region of high AR frequency. This study aims to test the hypothesis that ARs play a significant role in heavy precipitation and flooding events in New Zealand. We used a recently developed AR identification method and daily station data across New Zealand to test for the concurrence of ARs and extreme rainfall. We found that, at each of the eleven stations analysed, at least seven to all ten of the top ten heaviest precipitation days between 1980 and 2018 were associated with AR conditions. Nine of the ten most damaging floods in New Zealand between 2007 and 2017 occurred during AR events. These results have important implications for understanding extreme rainfall in New Zealand, and ultimately for predicting some of the most hazardous events in the region. This work also highlights that more research on ARs in New Zealand is needed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c2fad6463b44aaa839d1783710545b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c2fad6463b44aaa839d1783710545b92023-08-09T14:56:28ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116404401210.1088/1748-9326/abeae0Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric RiversKimberley J Reid0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5972-6015Suzanne M Rosier1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0673-5847Luke J Harrington2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1699-6119Andrew D King3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9006-5745Todd P Lane4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0171-6927The School of Earth Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research , Wellington, New ZealandEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford , Oxford, United Kingdom; New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington , Wellington, New ZealandThe School of Earth Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, Victoria, AustraliaThe School of Earth Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, Victoria, AustraliaAtmospheric rivers (ARs) are narrow and elongated regions of enhanced horizontal water vapour transport. Considerable research on understanding Northern Hemisphere ARs and their relationship with extreme precipitation has shown that ARs have a strong association with heavy rainfall and flooding. While there has been very little work on ARs in the Southern Hemisphere, global climatologies suggest that ARs are equally as common in both hemispheres. New Zealand in particular is located in a region of high AR frequency. This study aims to test the hypothesis that ARs play a significant role in heavy precipitation and flooding events in New Zealand. We used a recently developed AR identification method and daily station data across New Zealand to test for the concurrence of ARs and extreme rainfall. We found that, at each of the eleven stations analysed, at least seven to all ten of the top ten heaviest precipitation days between 1980 and 2018 were associated with AR conditions. Nine of the ten most damaging floods in New Zealand between 2007 and 2017 occurred during AR events. These results have important implications for understanding extreme rainfall in New Zealand, and ultimately for predicting some of the most hazardous events in the region. This work also highlights that more research on ARs in New Zealand is needed.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abeae0rainfall extremesatmospheric riversNew Zealandflooding |
| spellingShingle | Kimberley J Reid Suzanne M Rosier Luke J Harrington Andrew D King Todd P Lane Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers Environmental Research Letters rainfall extremes atmospheric rivers New Zealand flooding |
| title | Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_full | Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_fullStr | Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_short | Extreme rainfall in New Zealand and its association with Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_sort | extreme rainfall in new zealand and its association with atmospheric rivers |
| topic | rainfall extremes atmospheric rivers New Zealand flooding |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abeae0 |
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