Applied multivariate analysis on annual rainfall in the northeast of Algeria

Abstract

In recent times, there has been a growing interest in understanding precipitation variability and its predictability for periods of a few months to several years. Our work consisted of studying climatic changes in the northeastern region of Algeria based on multivariate analysis of the annual rainfall. Variability of annual rainfall was analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and non-hierarchical classification (cluster method). For spatial rainfall variability, due to the complexity of the region, we used the method inverse distance weighted cartography modeling. Results indicate PCA represented the accumulated yearly rainfall of correlated fields on an annual scale, only the years 1971, 1985, 1995, and 2002 had a rather high degree of correlation, translating the homogeneity of annual distribution of precipitation. Cluster method demonstrated the certainty of three groups. The first group was characterized by regions of distinguishable climatic types, such as Mediterranean climate. The second group was characterized by the Tellian Atlas, while the third group was characterized by high plateaus. Spatial analysis of average decade rainfall shows that the isohyet curves of 750 mm in the center of the study region are shifting to the south, and that the Mediterranean regime rainfall affects all the northern region.