Rainfall erosivity in Cape Verde

Abstract

This paper presents rainfall erosivity values derived from a 7-year rainfall recording in the Cape Verde islands, Central East Atlantic. The data set consisted of 63 storm events, continuously registered in 15-min intervals. Kinetic energy of storm rainfall corresponded to established values in other tropical locations. Two algorithms to estimate erosivity, expressed as energy times intensity, using daily rainfall or storm depth and duration as predictor variables are derived. Erosivity of design storms for various return frequencies is calculated for some locations in Santiago island. An indicative range for the annual rainfall erosion R-index is given. Data analysis further showed the extreme seasonal concentration of precipitation and erosivity at this location, with a very high fraction of total annual erosivity contained in the annual maximum 24-h rainfall. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.