Spatial Distribution of the Average Air Temperatures in Italy: Quantitative Analysis
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 4
Abstract
Annual and monthly average temperatures are analyzed with statistical methods to characterize the temperature regime in Italy. Data from 738 weather stations, with homogeneous spatial cover throughout Italy, are used to estimate the annual and monthly air temperature normals. Geographic and morphologic parameters, computed around the points of measure, are considered as explicative variables within a georegression model. Morphometric variables are defined using the USGS GTOPO30 digital elevation model, which has a resolution of . On the basis of a stepwise regression analysis, the significant variables are found to be elevation, latitude, distance from the sea, and a measure of terrain concavity. The relationship between the average annual air temperature and the mentioned variables explains 92% of the variance and produces a standard error of . The temperature regime (normalized mean temperature for each of the ) is reproduced with a two-harmonic Fourier series, with parameters estimated using stepwise regression. Analyses of the reconstruction errors demonstrate that the results are quite satisfactory for many technical purposes, particularly for large-scale climatic characterization.
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Acknowledgments
Comments and suggestions received by three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged and appreciated. The writers also acknowledge the financial support of the National Research Council (CNR-GNDCI Grant No. UNSPECIFIED03.00022.GN42) and of the Ministry of Education, University and Research (PRIN 2003 Project).
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Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 4 • April 2008
Pages: 242 - 249
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 12, 2005
Accepted: Jun 15, 2007
Published online: Apr 1, 2008
Published in print: Apr 2008
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