Journal of Spatial Analysis

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Classifying daily climate circulation patterns has always been considered by climatologists. Investigating climate changes such as rainfall and the temperature in a same single time and place suggests that these changes are strongly influenced by atmospheric circulation patterns.

Regarding so, climate changes, known as variables here, such as rainfall, temperature, and other related phenomena, which are exemplified as flood, drought, glacial, and etc. are associated with special types of climate circulation patterns. The continuity and alternation of the systems are classified or identified climatically, therefore weather classification system is one of the main objectives of the synoptic climatology (Huth, 1996). Since every weather type creates its own special environmental condition, lack of identification in weather type frequencies leads to a difficult environmental explanation and alternation (Alijani, 1380: 64).

Identifying atmospheric circulation patterns different things that can be expressed inductively such as frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution of climate changes in rainfall and its physical causers (VicenteSerrano and LopezMoreno, 2006).

Heavy rainfall in many watersheds, particularly in the basin and sub-basin which involve less time exposure, causes floods and it also damages human, natural resources, infrastructure utilities and equipment. Before the occurrence of this kind of rainfall, it requires a deep understanding of the synoptic systems of their creator. This understanding is only possible through the classification and identification of rainfall patterns which used to cause floods in the studied basins.

The present study also aims at identifying and classifying the synoptic patterns of rainfall during the statistical stage of the study in the basin which caused flood in Taleqhan basin.

Taleqhan basin with area of (65/1242) per square kilometers is located in "36֯, 5', 20" to "36֯, 21', 30" north latitude and "50֯, 36', 26" to eastern longitude "51֯, 10', 18".

The study area is 120 kilometers away from North West of Tehran and located in a relatively high mountainous area in Alborz Mountain. This area is ranging from 1700 meters to 4400 meters above sea level. Average rainfall in this basin ara is 515/16 mm and its annual temperature fits 10.5 centigrade.  About 79 percent of rainfalls occurs from the cold weather period in November to March. It is also know as semi-humid cold weather based on the De Martonne classification.

Circulation algorithm (CA) and pattern clustering algorithm (PCA) were determined based on the daily methods in synoptic scale by applying information from stations in Taleqhan basin (Gateh deh, Dehdar, Dizan, Snkranchal, armouth, Ange, Joostan, Zidasht). In order to classify the weather type, daily average rate of 500 HPa and the sea level pressure (SLP) were extracted and reconstructed over the period (1980-2011) at the 2.5 degree of NCEP. Selected range includes 608 points from latitude of 10 to the 60 of northern degree, and latitude of 10 to 80 of eastern degree.

Principal components method mixes the interrelated points and reduces the matrix size, so 13 main components are remained that they includes 93 percent of the total variance. This study employs S array and Varimax rotation to identify different types of weather. It also makes use of K-Means clustering method to classify daily weather types. And finally, a matrix was formed in 118×608 dimension for 118 common days of rainfall among stations. All days were divided into four groups. They offer the most common climate circulation patterns in the proposed area. At the end, and finally integrated maps of sea level pressure and 500 HPa were drawn for each weather type. 

According to the results from factor analysis, 13 main elements were selected that they included 93% of the total variance of the data. According to the above mentioned method, all days (118 days) during the statistical period (1980-2011) were divided into 4 groups which provide the most climate circulation patterns in the study area. Then, integrated maps of sea level pressure and 500 HPa range were drawn for each of the types. Clusters were numbered according to the K-Means arrangement, and they were named based on the pressure patterns and the way circulation lines were ordered.

The classification shows two different resources for rainfall in this basin.

A: Those rain systems that are entered to the country from the West and South affect this basin. These systems humidity are caused by the Red Sea, the Mediterranean sea, the Black Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. (B) Some parts of the Caspian coast rainfalls and the northern part of the Alborz mountain that has received their humidity from the Caspian Sea and it has infiltrated northern high-land, causes the rainfalls. It enters the basin from the wide valley of Sefid Rood. According to the rainfall measuring stations data, the least rainfall area is in western, which includes low-land areas. And the most rainfall area is its northern east. Rainfall in this area, in terms of rainfall time distribution in a year, is the Mediterranean. It does not involve a complete dry climate in summer and it takes 3 to 4 percent of the total rainfall.  Rainfall in the basin, respectively, is distributed in winter, spring, fall, and summer.

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Occurrence conditions for severe snow blizzard in the west-north of Iran
 
Abstract
The blizzard incident is one of the climatic hazards that occurs due to the combination of other climatic factors such as temperature (below zero), snow and wind (at 15 m/s). In this research, the conditions of blizzard in Northwest of Iran are carried out using statistical methods. By analyzing all the meteorological codes of the blizzard (36, 37, 38 and 39) during the statistical period from 1987 to 2016 for 11 synoptic stations of the study area, codes with severe blizzard (37, 39) were selected. Then, using the geopotential height, wind and Leveling temperature of 500 and 850 hpa, obtained from the NCEP/NCAR open source database, the synoptic patterns of blizzard incident analyzed. Statistical analysis of the relationship between the effects of geographic factors on severe blizzard has shown that the factor of height has the greatest effect on intensity, increase and incident spatial differences of this phenomenon. The study of the synoptic patterns of the incident of the blizzard phenomenon showed that five main patterns play a role in creating it in the region. The synoptic patterns of development include the formation of a low cut-off center, a long landing passage from Iran, the formation of a relatively deep and drawn Mediterranean East, The rectangular system is a rex-shaped system and is an umbilical bundle system. Among the patterns obtained, the patterns that were bundled were, the most important role in the survival and transfer of flows associated with cold, and other patterns, despite the frequency they had, were periodically of severity and weakness.
Keywords: Blizzard; North West; Wind speed; Temperatures below zero; Synoptic patterns
Human life is always affected by climatic phenomena, especially the hazards of the two variables of temperature and wind. One of the most important simultaneous phenomena of these two variables is the blizzard, which is caused by heavy snow, stormy winds, and very low temperatures. This climate risk can cause damage to various areas of horticulture, agriculture, urbanization, transportation, and so on. This phenomenon is present in regions such as Canada and North America with a cold weather wave that results from turbulence in the winters and damages the lawns in these areas. There are plenty of local storm in the polar regions and it lasts for a few days. For example, the wind in the Adelie land in the Antarctic is so severe that the area is known as the storm Land. In Iran, the most significant blizzard occurred in mid-February 1350, resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 people across the country. In this research, considering the characteristics of the blizzard phenomenon at the time of occurrence (severity, continuity, expansion, and time of occurrence), the study has been conducted to determine the statistical synoptic patterns in the northwest region.
In this research, the studied area is northwest of Iran, which includes 6 provinces (Ardebil, West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Zanjan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Hamedan). In order to study, the days with the blizzard phenomenon in the form of 3 hours and in codes of this phenomenon (36, 37, 38 and 39), were obtained from the establishment of the stations studied by 2016. In the following, for precise examination, stations with 30 years of statistic from 1987 to 2016 were identified and the statistical (frequency, daily, monthly and annual frequency) codes 39 and 37 were studied. Finally, the relationship between blizzard with the latitude and elevation in the studied stations was determined. To assess the statistical results, the correlation coefficients (R) and coefficient of determination (R²) were used.
In the second part, the identification of synoptic patterns was done by Principal Component Analysis in MATLAB software and ocular method. The criterion for identifying synoptic patterns, the days where codes 37 and 39 are more than 1 time (3 hours) within 24 hours or two days behind each other at the stations studied. In order to determine the patterns, at first, the average geopotential data of the 500-hpa level from 1987 to 2016 were obtained from a range of 10-70 degrees north latitude and 0-80 degrees east longitude with a spatial resolution of 2.5 * 2.5 from the NCEP / NCAR data.
Statistical analyzes on the relationship between the effect of geographic factors on severe blizzard showed that the factor of height had the greatest effect on the intensity, magnitude and spatial differences of this phenomenon. In sum, the most important factor in the occurrence of this phenomenon is due to atmospheric conditions and synoptic patterns of the region. In this study, the most frequent occurrence of codes 37 and 39 in all stations studied was at Sardasht station and Khalkhal station, respectively. Also, the statistical study of the frequency of the annual and monthly occurrence of each code showed that code 39 in 1990 and code 37 in the years 1989 and 1990, as well as in January, had the highest frequency of each of the two codes.
Investigating the patterns of the occurrence of the blizzard phenomenon showed that five main patterns have contributed to its creation in the region, the first pattern due to the formation of a low cut-off center, which, with the cold weather in Central and Eastern Europe, has reduced the temperature in the northwest. The second pattern is due to the high landing passage from Iran, which has crossed the descent from a cold and cold weather zone from Europe to Iran. The third pattern is the location of the studied area in the relatively moderate, dragged, eastern Mediterranean wavelength, causing cold weather to fall to the northwest. The fourth pattern, with the formation of a Rex-type blockade on the Mediterranean, has led to the transfer of cold air from Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, and high latitudes to Iran. The fifth pattern, with the formation of a blockade, has caused cold weather in northern Europe and Central Asia to enter the country from the north, causing a drop in temperature in the region.
Among the known patterns, the patterns that were blocked (pattern 4 and 5) played the most important role in the survival and transfer of cold fluxes and even drawn to lower latitudes. Other patterns, despite frequent periods, provide conditions for the occurrence of this phenomenon and, unlike the blocking patterns, have had severity and weakness.
 
Keywords: Blizzard; North West; Wind speed; Temperatures below zero; Synoptic patterns
 
 
 

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Synoptic Patterns that Determine the Trajectory of Precipitation Systems of Sudanese Originntroduction
 
Introduction
Precipitation as an important climatic element has many irregularities and fluctuations. Iran, especially its southern half, has significant precipitation fluctuations. Several atmospheric systems are involved in the formation of precipitation in this region from of Iran. Sudanese system is one of the most important precipitation systems in Iran. This system, in different synoptic conditions, enters Iran from different input sources and passes through Iran in different ways.
The important and influential role of Sudan's low pressure on precipitation in Iran, especially in the southern part of the country, has been repeatedly demonstrated in numerous studies. But the formation and its expansion have received little attention. These reasons have led to the consideration of the position of Sudan's low-pressure synoptic expansion as an influential factor in the southern half of Iran precipitation. Therefore, the position of the expansion of this important climatic system has been investigated separately in the precipitation of the three regions south west, south middle and south east.
 
Materials and Methods
Two categories of data were used for this study. These data include daily precipitation data from the Iranian Meteorological Organization and the ERA interim gridded data include Sea Level Pressure (SLP) and the Geopotential Height of the 700 HP atmospheric level of the ECMWF. Second category data with horizontal resolution of 0.5 × 0.5^°  degrees during 1997-2017 statistical period were prepared.
To achieve the purpose of the study, the southern half of Iran was first divided into three regions: South-West, South-Mid and South-East. After extracting daily precipitation of the selected stations in all three geographic regions, a total of 142 precipitation systems was identified by applying the required criteria. From this number of precipitation systems, respectively, were obtained in the south west 107, south middle 19 and southeast 16, respectively. Then, the source of precipitation systems was extracted using the atmospheric lower level maps. Subsequently, the central core and zone of the first closed curve around the Sudanese low pressure were extracted separately for each group. The main axis of the Sudanese low-pressure trough are also drawn on all rainy day. Finally, the model or pattern of atmospheric circulation in the precipitation systems of the regions is presented separately.
 
Results and Discussion
The purpose of this study was to determine the position of the central core and the pattern of expansion of the first closed curve around the Sudanese system and the Sudanese system trough in precipitation in each of the three regions of the southern half of Iran. Since the arrangement of precipitation systems may vary in different months of the year, depending on the general atmosphere of the atmosphere, the position of the core, the pattern of expansion of the low-pressure trough and the trough of 700-hPa atmospheric level is analyzed separately each month.
In the synoptic pattern of systems, entering from the south west of Iran, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure with the southwest-northeast direction is located in the eastern half of the Arabian Peninsula and west of the Oman Sea. In this pattern, the troughs are generally north-south. As a result, the rainfall intensity and intensity of precipitation systems, entering the south west of Iran are higher than the other two routes. The focal point of troughs this route is between 30 to 40° east (Eastern Mediterranean). In systems with South-Mid route, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure has slightly shifted southward and found a northeast-southwest axis. In this pattern, the Mediterranean troughs are generally northeast-southwest. This pattern causes precipitation in the eastern half of the Iran. Or at least no precipitation in the northwest and west of the Iran.
The synoptic pattern of precipitation systems that enter Iran from the southeast is somewhat more complex. In this pattern, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure has an unusual eastward shift. So that it is based in India. The troughs of this path showed two completely opposite patterns. In some systems, the troughs in the southwest-northeast direction with the orbital inclination, covers the whole of Saudi Arabia and southern Iran. On the contrary, in some systems the troughs stretch quite opposite to the first group, the northwest-southeast direction.
This asymmetry in the expansion of the troughs should be traced to the general topography of the Tibetan Plateau and the circulation pattern of caused by the presence of the Tibetan anticyclone. Basically Mediterranean troughs are disrupted in their usual eastward displacement after a longitude of 60 degrees. As you can see, the Sudanese low-pressure troughs for the South-East Route lack structural discipline and coordination.
 
Conclusion
The results of this study show that the location and pattern of expansion of the first closed curve around low pressure in different precipitation months and systems of the three zones do not differ significantly in location. Rather, it is the most important system in determining the direction of Sudanese systems, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure and the pattern of expansion of the eastern Mediterranean trough. In the synoptic pattern of systems, entering from the south west of Iran, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure with the southwest-northeast direction is located in the eastern half of the Arabian Peninsula and west of the Oman Sea. In this pattern, the troughs are generally north-south. In systems with South-Mid route, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure has slightly shifted southward and found a northeast-southwest axis. In this pattern, the Mediterranean troughs are generally northeast-southwest. The synoptic pattern of precipitation systems that enter Iran from the southeast is somewhat more complex. In this pattern, the Arabian Subtropical High Pressure has an unusual eastward shift. So that it is based in India. The Sudanese low-pressure troughs for the South-East Route lack structural discipline and coordination. This asymmetry in the expansion of the troughs should be traced to the general topography of the Tibetan Plateau and the circulation pattern of caused by the presence of the Tibetan anticyclone.
 
Keywords: Synoptic Patterns, Sudanese Low Pressure system, Eastern Mediterranean Trough, Southern Half of Iran, Arabian Subtropical High Pressure.
 
 
 

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