@article {5002,
	title = {Spatial and temporal variability of consecutive dry and wet days in Greece},
	journal = {Atmospheric Research},
	volume = {94},
	year = {2009},
	note = {Cited By :33Export Date: 2 November 2015Correspondence Address: Nastos, P.T.; Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, University of AthensGreece; email: nastos@geol.uoa.grReferences: Alexandersson, H., A homogeneity test applied to precipitation data (1986) J. Climatol., 6, pp. 661-675;Alpert, P., Ben-Gai, T., Baharad, A., Benjamini, Y., Yekutieli, D., Colacino, M., Diodato, L., Manes, A., The paradoxical increase of Mediterranean extreme daily rainfall in spite of decrease in total values (2002) Geophys. Res. Lett., 29 (11). , 31-1- 31-4; 
Amanatidis, G.T., Repapis, C.C., Paliatsos, A.G., Precipitation trends and periodicities in Greece (1997) Fresenius Environ. Bull., 6, pp. 314-319; 
Anagnostopoulou, Chr., Maheras, P., Karacostas, T., Vafiadis, M., Spatial and temporal analysis of dry spells in Greece (2003) Theor. Appl. Climatol., 74 (1-2), pp. 77-91; 
Anagnostopoulou, Chr., Tolika, K., Flocas, H., Maheras, P., Cyclones in the Mediterranean region: present and future climate scenarios derived from a general circulation model (HadAM3P) (2006) Adv. Geosci., 7, pp. 9-14; 
Beniston, M., Stephenson, D.B., Christensen, O.B., Ferro, C.A.T., Frei, C., Goyette, S., Halsnaes, K., Woth, K., Future extreme events in European climate: an exploration of regional climate model projections (2007) Clim. Change, 81, pp. 71-95; 
(1996) Mediterranean desertification and land use, , Brandt J., and Thornes (Eds), Wiley, London New York 554 pp; 
Brunetti, M., Maugeri, M., Nanni, T., Changes in total precipitation, rainy days and extreme events in northeastern Italy (2001) Int. J. Climatol., 21, pp. 861-871; 
Brunetti, M., Maugeri, M., Monti, F., Nanni, T., Changes in daily precipitation frequency and distribution in Italy over the last 120~years (2004) J. Geophys. Res., 109 (5). , D05102 1-16; 
Chu, P.S., Yu, Z.P., Hastenrath, S., Detecting climate change concurrent with deforestation in the Amazon basin: which way has it gone? (1994) Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 75, pp. 759-583; 
Diodato, N., Bellocchi, G., Drought stress patterns in Italy using agro-climatic indicators (2008) Clim. Res., 36 (1), pp. 53-63; 
D{\"u}nkeloh, A., Jacobeit, J., Circulation dynamics of Mediterranean precipitation variability 1948-98 (2003) Int. J. Climatol., 23, pp. 1843-1866; 
Easterling, D.R., Evans, J.L., Groisman, P.Ya., Karl, T.R., Kunkel, K.E., Ambenje, P., Observed variability and trends in extreme climate events: a brief review (2000) Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 81, pp. 417-425; 
Eggemberger, F., Polya, G., Ober die Statistik verketteter Vorg/inge 2 (1923) Angew. Math. Mech., 3, p. 279; 
Fauchereau, N., Trzaska, S., Rouault, M., Richard, Y., Rainfall variability and changes in Southern Africa during the 20th century in the global warming context (2003) Nat. Hazards, 29, pp. 139-154; 
Feidas, H., Noulopoulou, C., Makrogiannis, T., Bora-Senta, E., Trend analysis of precipitation time series in Greece and their relationship with circulation using surface and satellite data: 1955-2001 (2007) Theor. Appl. Climatol., 87, pp. 155-177; 
Goodess, C.M., Jones, P.D., Links between circulation and changes in the characteristics of Iberian rainfall (2002) Int. J. Climatol., 22, pp. 1593-1615; 
Groisman, P.Ya., Knight, R.W., Easterling, D.R., Karl, T.R., Hegerl, G.C., Trends in intense precipitation in the climate record (2005) J. Climate, 18 (9), pp. 1326-1350; 
Hurrell, J.W., Van Loon, H., Decadal variations in climate associated with the North Atlantic oscillation (1997) Clim. Change, 36, pp. 301-326; 
IPCC, Summary for policymakers (2007) Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, , Solomon S., Qin D., Manning M., Chen Z., Marquis M., Averyt K.B., Tignor M., and Miller H.L. (Eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; 
Katsoulis, B.D., Kambezidis, H.D., Analysis of the long-term precipitation series at Athens, Greece (1989) Clim. Change, 14, pp. 263-290; 
Kostopoulou, E., Jones, P.D., Assessment of climate extremes in the Eastern Mediterranean (2005) Meteorol. Atmos. Phys., 89, pp. 69-85; 
Kundzewicz, Z.W., Radziejewski, M., Pi{\'n}skwar, I., Precipitation extremes in the changing climate of Europe (2006) Clim. Res., 31 (1), pp. 51-58; 
Kutiel, H., The multimodality of the rainfall course in Israel as reflected by the distribution of dry spells (1985) Arch. Meteorol. Geophys. Bioclimatol., Ser. B, 39, pp. 15-27; 
Lehner, B., D{\"o}ll, P., Alcamo, J., Henrichs, T., Kaspar, F., Estimating the impact of global change on flood and drought risks in Europe: a continental, integrated analysis (2006) Clim. Change, 75 (3), pp. 273-299; 
Livada, I., Assimakopoulos, V.D., Spatial and temporal analysis of drought in Greece using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) (2007) Theor. Appl. Climatol., 89, pp. 143-153; 
Loukas, A., Vasiliades, L., Spiliotopoulos, M., Banzelis, D., Domenikiotis, C., Dalezios, N.R., (2002) Proceedings of the 6th Hellenic Conference in Meteorology-Climatology and Atmospheric Physics, 2, pp. 708-716; 
Luterbacher, J., Chapter 1, Mediterranean climate variability over the last centuries: a review (2005) The Mediterranean Climate: an overview of the main characteristics and issues, , Lionello P., Malanotte-Rizzoli P., and Boscolo R. (Eds), Elsevier; 
Maheras, P., La variabilite des precipitations dans la mer Egee (1981) Archiv. Meteorol. Geophys. Bioklim., Ser. B, 29, pp. 157-166; 
Maheras, P., (1983) Climatologie de la mer Egee et de ses Marges Continentales, , These d{\textquoteright}Etat, Atelier de Reproduction des Theses de Lille III; 
Metaxas, D.A., Philandras, C.M., Nastos, P.T., Repapis, C.C., Variability of precipitation pattern in Greece during the year (1999) Fresenius Environ. Bull., 8, pp. 1-6; 
Nastos, P.T., (1993) Proceedings of the 6th Colloque International de Climatologie, 6, pp. 183-190; 
Nastos, P.T., Spatial and temporal variability of the rain intensity in Greece (2008) Proceedings of the 8th Hydrogeological International Congress of Greece, pp. 651-660; 
Nastos, P.T., Zerefos, C.S., On extreme daily precipitation totals at Athens, Greece (2007) Adv. Geosci., 10, pp. 1-8; 
Nastos, P.T., Zerefos, C.S., Decadal changes in extreme daily precipitation in Greece (2008) Adv. Geosci., 16, pp. 55-62; 
Nastos, P.T., Philandras, C.M., Repapis, C.C., Application of canonical analysis to air temperature and precipitation regimes over Greece (2002) Fresenius Environ. Bull., 11 (8), pp. 488-493; 
(2000) Assessment of potential effects and adaptations for climate change in Europe: The Europe ACACIA Project, , Parry M.L. (Ed), Jackson Environment Institute, Norwich 320 pp; 
Pennas, P., (2001) Lengths of wet-spells over Greece, , Conference on Applications of Meteorology. Budapest, Hungary, CD Rom; 
Repapis, C.C., Temporal fluctuations of precipitation in Greece (1986) Riv. Meteorol. Aeronaut., XLVI (1-2), pp. 19-25; 
Sheffield, J., Wood, E.F., Characteristics of global and regional drought, 1950-2000: analysis of soil moisture data from off-line simulation of the terrestrial hydrologic cycle (2007) J. Geophys. Res. D: Atmospheres, 112 (17), pp. D17115; 
Sneyers, R., (1975) Sur l{\textquoteright} analyse statistique des series d{\textquoteright}observations. Technical Note 143, WMO, , Geneva; 
Spanos, S.I., Maheras, P., Karacostas, T., Pennas, P., Objective climatology of 500~hPa cyclones in Centraleast Mediterranean region during warm-dry period of the year (2003) Theor. Appl. Climatol., 75 (3-4), pp. 167-178; 
Theoharatos, G.A., Tselepidaki, I., The distribution of rainy days in the Aegean area (1990) Theor. Appl. Climatol., 42, pp. 111-116; 
Tolika, K., Maheras, P., Spatial and temporal characteristics of wet spells in Greece (2005) Theor. Appl. Climatol., 81, pp. 71-85; 
Wilks, D., (1995) Statistical Methods in the Atmospheric Sciences, , Academic Press 467 pp; 
Xoplaki, E., Gonz{\'a}lez-Rouco, J.F., Luterbacher, J., Wanner, H., Wet season Mediterranean precipitation variability: influence of large-scale dynamics and trends (2004) Clim. Dynam., 23 (1), pp. 63-78; 
Zambakas, J.D., (1981) General Climatology, , Athens, 494 pp (in Greek)
},
	month = {2009},
	pages = {616 - 628},
	abstract = {The objective of this study is to find out the spatial and temporal variability of the dry and wet spells in Greece, during the period 1958-2007. The meteorological data with respect to daily precipitation totals were acquired from 27 meteorological stations of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, which are uniformly distributed over the country. The dry spells concern consecutive dry days (CDD); the largest number of consecutive days with daily precipitation amount less than 1~mm, within a year. The wet spells concern consecutive wet days (CWD); the largest number of consecutive days with daily precipitation amount more than or equal to 1~mm, within a year, as defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI), jointly sponsored by the Commission for Climatology (CCl) of the World Meteorological Organization{\textquoteright}s (WMO) World Climate Data and Monitoring Programme (WCDMP), the Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Programme of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM). As results from the analysis, the spatial distributions of the mean annual CDD and the mean annual CWD along with their trends, within the examined period, are presented. The findings indicate that CDD obtain maxima in the Cyclades Islands and the southeastern Aegean Sea, while minima are found in the northwestern Greece. On the contrary, the longest CWD are observed in western Greece and western part of Crete Island and the shortest in the eastern continental Greece and in the majority of the Aegean Sea. On an annual basis, the temporal variability of CWD shows statistically significant (confidence level of 95\%) negative trends, mainly in the western region of Greece, while insignificant positive trends for CDD appear almost all over the country with emphasis in the southeastern region. Finally, in order to interpret the drier and wetter periods within the examined period, the 850~hPa and the 500~hPa geopotential height (m) composites of the anomalies from 1958-1996 climatological normal (clino), are analysed using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data. {\textcopyright} 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.},
	keywords = {Aegean Sea, Arctic engineering, Atmospheric pressure, Climate change, Climate change detection, Climate data, climate prediction, Climate research, Climate variability, Confidence levels, Consecutive dry days, Consecutive wet days, Curing, Cyclades, Drought, Dry and wet, Dry spells, Eurasia, Europe, Expert teams, geopotential, Geopotential height, Greece, Marine meteorology, Meteorological data, Meteorological station, National centers for environmental predictions, North Atlantic Oscillation, North Atlantic oscillations, Oceanography, Precipitation, precipitation (climatology), Precipitation (meteorology), Reanalysis, Southern Europe, Spatial and temporal variability, Spatial distribution, Technical commission, Temporal variability, weather forecasting, Western Greece, Western region, World meteorological organizations},
	isbn = {01698095 (ISSN)},
	url = {http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-70449686638\&partnerID=40\&md5=634653283f19764c9faeade22063f6a7},
	author = {Nastos, P. T. and Zerefos, C. S.}
}
