Investigating Interannual Variability of Precipitation at the Global Scale: Is There a Connection with Seasonality?

Abstract

Interannual variability of precipitation can directly or indirectly affect many hydrological, ecological, and biogeochemical processes that, in turn, influence climate. Despite the significant importance of the phenomenon, few studies have attempted to elucidate spatial patterns of this variability at the global scale. This study uses land gauge precipitation records of the Global Historical Climatology Network, version 2, as well as reanalysis data to provide an assessment of the spatial organization of characteristics of precipitation interannual variability. The coefficient of variation, skewness, and short- and long-range dependence of the precipitation variability are analyzed. Among the major inferences is that the coefficient of variation of annual precipitation shows a significant correlation with intra-annual seasonality. Specifically, subyearly precipitation anomalies occurring in locations with pronounced seasonality affect the total yearly amount, imposing a higher variability in the annual precipitation fluctuations. Furthermore, the study illustrates that a positive skewness of the distribution of annual precipitation is a robust property worldwide and its magnitude is related to the coefficient of variation. Additionally, annual precipitation exhibits very weak small-lag autocorrelation. Conversely, the intensity of long-memory–long-range dependence is significantly larger than zero, hinting that organized long-term variations are an important feature of the interannual variability of precipitation.