Аpplication of the Homer Software to Quality Control and Homogenize Time Series of Monthly Precipitation Sums

Abstract

Palamarchuk L.V., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, KyivOsadchyi V.I., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, KyivSkrynyk O.A., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, Kyiv, National University of Bioresources and Nature Management, Kyiv Kyreieva Z.M., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, Kyiv, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Sidenko V.P., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, KyivOshurok D.O., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, KyivSkrynyk O.Y., Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Service Emergencies of Ukraine, Kyiv In our work, we present a digital dataset of monthly atmospheric precipitation sums collected at 177 meteorological stations and 47 precipitation posts in Ukraine during the period of 1946-2020. Quality control check and homogenization of the time series were performed by means of the HOMER software. The quality control procedure revealed 1316 anomaly values (outliers), which constitute 0.7% of the total amount of considered precipitation measurements. A significant part of the detected outliers (465) was identified as rough errors, which were corrected after analysis of original paper sources. Simultaneous use of the observation data from meteorological stations and precipitation posts allowed to improve accuracy/quality of the latter (by comparing them with corresponding measurements from the meteorological stations) and make precipitation fields more consistent. The homogenization procedure detected 265 breaks. Such breaks are usually considered as moments of time when abrupt shifts in time series evolution are happened. The main reasons for breaks are station/post relocations, replacement of measurement devices etc., namely any non-climatic factors. According to the WMO recommendations, the obtained homogenized time series can be applied to study regional climate including its variability and persistent change.