Correction of Inhomogeneous Data in the Precipitation Time Series of Sweden Due to the Wind Shield Introduction
Abstract: The work of this master thesis is based on analyses of monthly precipitation data from 70 stations of the SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute) in Sweden, in the period 1860-2014, using the information for the year of introduction of the wind shield at each station. The primary goal is the calculation of correction factors which will be applied on the precipitation data in the period of measurements before the introduction of the wind shield. This correction will counterbalance the underestimation of the collected precipitation by the unshielded precipitation gauges due to the effect of the wind. The wind induced error, related to aerodynamical effects, increases with increasing wind speed. The stronger the wind, the more capable it is of deflecting the precipitation water droplets or snowflakes, falling towards the gauge orifice, away from it. In spite of the important efficiency of the wind shield which acts to diminish the wind error, the long-term effect of changing the measuring instrumentation at some time in the observations history is the production of inhomogeneous data in the measurements records. Inhomogeneous precipitation data are sources of errors in climatology and hydrology and result in misleading conclusions regarding the climate change and climate variations, hence they should be identified and corrected through a homogenization method. The analysis includes the comparison of the precipitation data of each station during two periods, one before and one after the introduction of the wind shield. This comparison leads to the calculation of ratios representing the increase in the catch between the two periods due to the introduction of the wind shield. Temperature data are also processed in order to estimate the type of precipitation (snow/rain) in each case. The monthly corrections ranged between 5 %, for rain, and 27 % for snow precipitation. The absolute value of the increase of the average annual precipitation due the implementation of the correction was 50 mm. The comparison of the corrected against the uncorrected precipitation time series indicated a less pronounced increase (0.74 mm/y) of the precipitation during the last 150 years, after the application of the correction, compared to the increase indicated from the uncorrected data (1.19 mm/y).
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