Rainfall distribution on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro

Observations from new precipitation gauges on the southern slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro are used together with observations from the regular network to establish an elevation function for the precipitation on the southern hillside of Mt Kilimanjaro. A third-order polynomial function is found to best des...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrological sciences journal 2003-02, Vol.48 (1), p.65-77
Main Authors: Roehr, P C, Killingtveit, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
analyse de précipitations
distribution selon l'altitude
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
elevation distribution
Exact sciences and technology
gradient
homogeneity
homogénéité
Hydrology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
mesures de précipitation
Mt Kilimandjaro
Mt Kilimanjaro
precipitation analysis
precipitation measurement
Tanzania
Tanzanie
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Observations from new precipitation gauges on the southern slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro are used together with observations from the regular network to establish an elevation function for the precipitation on the southern hillside of Mt Kilimanjaro. A third-order polynomial function is found to best describe the distribution of precipitation with elevation for the lower half of the hillside. On the upper half of the hillside, an exponential function is found to best describe the precipitation distribution with elevation. The availability and quality of the precipitation records is often a limiting factor for analyses and may influence the results. A reference precipitation series for the area is established through thorough screening and quality checks of the available data. The elevation function is compared with an isohyetal map for the area. The findings indicate that the maximum precipitation on the southern hillside of Mt Kilimanjaro takes place at about 2200 m a.s.l. which is 400-500 m higher than assumed previously.
ISSN:0262-6667
2150-3435
DOI:10.1623/hysj.48.1.65.43483