Henning Madsen

Correction of precipitation based on off-site weather information

Owing to aerodynamic errors, correction of precipitation measurements, liquid, mixed or solid, is often carried out by means of an explicit mathematical statistical model. The magnitude of correction, e.g., calculated as a correction factor to the observed amount of precipitation, is the dependent variable, and wind speed, temperature and a measure of precipitation intensity are independent variables entering the correction model. Usually these independent variables are accessible on site where the precipitation measurements are recorded. However, in many standard precipitation networks the gauge measurements are not accompanied by on site information of these variables, and information from remote stations must be used. The aim of the paper is to describe how the statistical models can be used in evaluating if the set of remote information of the independent variables can be used for the estimation of a reliable correction factor on site. The technique is then applied to an example of precipitation network in Denmark where the typical situation for the standard gauges is that only the amount of precipitation is available. It is expected that not only can the methods be adapted to other countries, but for landscapes similar to Denmark even the conclusions can be applied directly: extrapolation of all independent variables from remote sites should be conducted with caution, wind speed information can be extrapolated from remote sites not farther away than approximately 50 km, while information on rain intensity and temperature can be safely extrapolated across longer distances.

ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN INPUT TO THE KATTEGAT

Abstract An overview is given of the processes involved in the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen compounds. These processes are incorporated in an atmospheric transport model that is used to calculate the nitrogen input to the Kattegat, the sea area between Denmark and Sweden. The model results show that the total atmospheric nitrogen input to the Kattegat is approximately 960 kg N km2 yr1. The nitrogen input to the Kattegat is dominated by the wet depositions of NHx (42%) and NOy (30%). The contribution from the dry deposition of NHx is 17% and that of the dry deposition of NOy is 11 %. The contribution of the atmospheric input of nitrogen to the Kattegat is about 30% of the total input including the net transport from other sea areas, runoff etc.

Deposition of Nitrogen Compounds to the Danish Coastal Waters

Methods, parameterisations and models have been developed, which give insight in processes that are important for deposition of nitrogen compounds to the sea. This knowledge has been applied to the Kattegat Strait for which a nitrogen deposition of 960 kg N km-2 yr-1 was calculated with an atmospheric transport model.