THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

MEASUREMENT OF PRECIPITATION
Precipitation can be defined as the liquid or solid product of the condensation of vapor.
of water, which falls from the clouds and is deposited on the ground coming from the air. Therefore, it includes the
rain, hail, snow, dew, white sparkle, frost, and fog precipitation. The total volume of
precipitation is expressed in terms of the level it would reach on a horizontal projection of the
surface of the earth. The main objective of any measurement method is to obtain a
representative sample of the precipitation in the area to which the measurement refers.
The measurement of the water collected in the rain gauge is carried out using a graduated cylinder.
especially graduated in millimeters and tenths of millimeters, the height reached of the measured water
in the test tube, it represents the layer of water over the ground, assuming it were horizontal and there were no
losses or movement of water. Unlike the rain gauge, which only allows obtaining a
parameter that is the amount of water precipitated during 24 hours, the rain gauge records the amount of
continuous precipitation, which allows obtaining 3 parameters of the rain which are: amount,
duration and intensity.
The water collected by the receiving part passes through a funnel and a tube to the mechanism.
registrar, consisting of a cylinder inside which there is a float that moves
vertically, connected to a lever arm with a stylus that marks the line on the band, which is
placed on a cylinder powered by a clockwork system, thus recording the precipitation in
time function.

IDF CURVES:
Intensity, Duration, and Frequency Curves are curves that result from connecting the points.
representative of the medium intensity in intervals of different duration, and all corresponding to them
at the same frequency or return period (Témez, 1978).
A more detailed definition is provided by Mintegui and López (1990), who point out that
IDF curves represent durations on the abscissas and the height or intensity of precipitation on the
ordered, where each represented curve corresponds to a frequency (or return period), such that
the way the graphs of these curves represent the average intensity in different intervals
duration, corresponding all points of the same curve to an identical return period.
Just with the definition of the curves, other elements to consider arise, such as intensity.
of precipitation, the frequency or the probability of exceedance of a certain event. Therefore, it is of
It is of utmost importance to have a clear understanding of the concept of each of these variables, in order to have a broader vision.
clear from the curves Intensity - Duration - Frequency
It is the graphical representation of the relationship between intensity, duration, and frequency.
the return period of precipitation. A storm is defined as the set of rains that obey a
same weather disturbance with well-defined characteristics. A storm can last from
a few minutes to several hours and even days and can range from a small area to a
extensive region.
From storms, it is important to know the intensity-duration-frequency curves.
Intensity: It is measured in mm/h, and its value varies during the storm.
Duration: It is measured in minutes or hours. It is the time elapsed between the beginning and the end of the
storm.
Duration period: It is an important concept. It is a period of time within the duration of the
storm. Duration types are chosen. For example: 10 m., 30 m., 60 m., 120 m., 240 m. The
What is sought, as we will see, are the maximum intensities for these periods of duration.

Frequency: We will clarify this concept with an example. A storm of frequency 1/15 means
it is likely to occur, on average, once every 15 years. The 15 years come to
constitute the return time or return period of that storm.
The analysis of storms aims to obtain assertions like that of this other example, more
In such a place, a storm with a maximum intensity of 48 mm/h is likely to occur.
a duration period of 20 minutes, every 15 years on average.

In this regard, it should be noted that intensity, according to Chow et al. (1994), is defined as the rate
precipitation temporal, that is, the depth per unit of time (mm/hr). And this is expressed as:
P
i=
Td
Where P is the rainfall depth in mm or in, and Td is the duration, usually given in hours.
It is important to note that when only one rain gauge is available at a station, it is evident
that, in general, only the average intensity over 24 hours can be known. As will be understood, this
information can lead to major errors by default, as short-duration rains are, in
generally, the most intense. It is natural then that the determinations of rainfall intensities are made
from the records provided by the rain gauges.

The IDF curves are a technique that allows us to obtain information on the expected rainfall in a
region, taking into account three of its most important variables: its intensity, duration, and frequency or
return time. This technique, although old in its concept, is very relevant and widely used in
engineering, especially for the design of hydraulic works and water resources management.
The IDF curves are generally presented as a group of curves, each of which represents a
given return period. On the X axis, the duration of the event (rain) is represented, and on the Y axis, the intensity of
It should be made clear that, in order to use this technique, one must have a station.
nearby meteorological, which should have hydrological measurements from a long period, hopefully
30 years, necessarily obtained with a rain gauge, given that what is being analyzed is the pluviogram.

PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS USED FOR THE

DETERMINATION OF IDF CURVES
Hydrological variables, including maximum precipitation intensities, can
to be described by various probability distributions, such as Generalized Extreme Value (GEV),
Extreme value type I or Gumbel, Lognormal, Pearson III, Pareto, etc.
 There is no function that is better than another; the function that should be sought for each case is the one that
better fits each specific data series. An important difference between the functions is the
simplicity of its application, since for example, the Gumbel and Lognormal functions have
2 parameters to adjust, while the generalized extreme value has 3 parameters.
The Gumbel function has been widely used in this type of studies; however, it has been
criticized and for Soro et al., (2010) this function could be replaced by the distribution of
extreme value type 2. However, the same authors when using the extreme value distributions
generalized (GEV), Type I extreme value or Gumbel and Lognormal, for 13 stations in the area
tropical Africa, they found that the best fits occurred with Gumbel and Lognormal and
only 9% of the series fitted better to GEV.
On the other hand, Elsebaie (2012) used Gumbel and Log Pearson Type III (LPT) at stations in Arabia.
Saudi, concluding that the results of the Gumbel distribution are slightly higher than the
results obtained by LPT. In general, the results are very similar for the majority of the
return periods and have the same trend.

Figure No.1 Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curve

Source: PROGRAM
INTERNATIONAL HYDROLOGICAL (p.i.h.), Intensity-duration-frequency curves for the southern area of
chile, p.7.

APPLICATION OF INTENSITY-DURATION-FREQUENCY (IDF) CURVES

The Intensity-Duration-Frequency curves are one of the most useful tools for
hydrological design of maximum flows, when rainfall-runoff models are used, such as the
unit hydrographs or the Rational Method. Thus, a large number of hydrological projects,
such as the design of flood evacuators, construction of bridges, and construction of drainage networks,
among others, it is defined in relation to the maximum precipitation that could be expected for a given
return period. From these extreme events, the dimensions of the project are set and
they establish the criteria for prediction and risk.
 On the other hand, IDF curves are very helpful in the construction of erosion control works.
and recovery of degraded soils. In works such as infiltration trenches, diversion channels, dikes
of posts, gabions and others intended for the control of ravines and erosional processes on slopes, is done
It is necessary to know the maximum values of precipitation intensities that can be reached, in order to
to dimension such works.

In addition to the previous applications, the construction of the extension tables stands out.
IDF curves. They allow for the estimation of maximum precipitation intensities for different durations and
periods of 1, 2, 3, 4… 12 hours, with the intensity of 24 hours, since the daily precipitation is
the most common to obtain, thus allowing the extrapolation of these relationships to areas where only one has
rainfall data.

A particularity of the Intensity-Duration-Frequency curves is that they can be expressed as

equations, in order to avoid reading the precipitation intensities on a graph. From this
Over time, various researchers have generated different approaches to relationships.
mathematics that model these curves.

CONSTRUCTION OF IDF CURVES

The construction of the Intensity - Duration - Frequency (IDF) curves, according to various authors, proposes
different forms or methods for its construction. According to Aparicio (1997), there are two methods; the first,
Intensity call - return period, relates these two variables for each duration separately,
through any of the probability distribution functions used in hydrology.
The other method simultaneously relates intensity, duration, and return period in a
family of curves, whose equation is:

k∗T m
I= n
( d +c )

where k, m, n, and c are constants that are calculated through a multiple linear correlation analysis, and in
so that l and d correspond to the intensity of precipitation and the duration respectively.
On the other hand, Chow et al (1994) propose two ways to work with curves. The first one uses a
frequency analysis of rainfall, considering for this a probability distribution function of
extreme value like the Gumbel function.
The second method expresses the IDF curves as equations, in order to avoid reading the
design rainfall intensity in a graph.
Wenzel (1982), cited by Chow, deduced for some cities in the United States, some
coefficients to use in an equation of the form:
c
I= e
( Td+f )
Where I is the design rainfall intensity, and Td is the duration, while c, e, and f are coefficients that vary.
with the place and period of return.
On the other hand, Varas and Sanchez, cited by EULA (1993), have proposed another methodology for design.
from the IDF curves. This procedure suggests the following expression to estimate the intensities
maximums for different return periods and durations:
Pt =K∗P10, D∗C,t∗C f , T
Where:
P t,T= Rain with a return period of T years and duration t hours in (mm).
K = Coefficient to obtain the absolute maximum rainfall in 24 hours based on the maximum value.
diary ( k= 1,1).
P 10,D = Maximum daily rainfall with a 10-year return period.
C d,T = Duration coefficient for t hours.
C f,T = Frequency coefficient for T years of return period

DATA COLLECTION
An important aspect to consider when using a station is that it has a series of a
at least 15 years of records, with the aim of having reliable statistical results.
Having these rain gauge bands, it is possible to extract precipitation information in various
lapses; however, these bands may present defective areas, due among other reasons,
over time, due to poor storage, defects in the paper, or some problem in
the operation of the equipment, which makes reading the records difficult. Next, we
they mention some defects that some bands might have and that it is necessary to have them in
consideration at the time of analyzing them:

The improperly placed paper in the pluviograph, which creates a small curve resembling the record.
of precipitation, which does not correspond to records of fallen water.

The calibration of the instrument during moments of precipitation complicates the measurement of the
records, because this operation marks some parallel lines on the bands, which makes
difficult for the observer to differentiate them from real rain.
Another common mistake in this type of bands occurs when the registration ink runs out.
rain gauge, which means the information is lost. This also happens when the needle remains with
very little pressure on the paper, which produces a barely legible mark or simply none
produce the record.

Due to the accumulation of dead insects in the siphon of the rain gauge, the organic material
generates a type of oil that produces a dripping on it. This causes a trace of the
rain gauge that does not reach the end of the paper (10 mm) and water is eliminated
to a lower height.

When the instrument is poorly calibrated, traces of longer or shorter length are generated.
millimeter of the paper, where the total trace should be measured, that is, they can be found
values greater than 10 mm.
When the water freezes in the siphon, it expands, causing an increase in height.
registered, which decreases again once it is defrosted.
 One of the most difficult errors to correct occurs when the paper is placed at an angle, due to
what prevents estimating the time when the precipitation occurs.

An error occurs in the measurements when the recording band remains installed in the
rain gauge for longer than it should (1 week), causing a difficult interpretation due to
part of the observer.

Finally, when the record does not start at 0, only the area that contains the
trace, that is, if it starts at 2 mm and reaches up to 9 mm, the amount of rain corresponds to
7 mm of precipitation.

SELECTION OF MAXIMUM INTENSITIES

The most validated method for the graphical construction of IDF curves is the one proposed by
Temez, which involves analyzing the bands of rain gauge records, selecting the values
extremes of precipitation, for specified times. In this way, from the pluviographic record of each
climatic station, only the bands that represent an extreme value should be discretized and that
match the historical records of maximum precipitation from the Research and Services Department
Climatic, thus obtaining the maximum amounts of precipitation with a duration of 24 hours, which covers
from 7:00 a.m. of one day until 7:00 a.m. of the next day.
For the development of IDF curves, first, the maximum quantities must be determined.
precipitation for different durations, for which it is possible to use an annual series or a series of
partial duration. An annual series is formed by the maximum event of each year, while the series
Partial is formed by all the values that are located above a chosen threshold value.
arbitrarily, without considering the year in which they occur. If this series is made up of the same
number of data that the number of years of record, refers to a series of surpluses.
A certain value always has a longer return period with the annual series than with the series
partial, but with a difference of only 0.5 years, which becomes less significant when the return period
is 50 years old or older (Bell, 1969).

When the historical record is small, less than 20 to 25 years, Chow et al. (1994) recommend
determine a series of annual excess for each of the durations, ordering them
depths and choosing the n maximum values from a record of N years. However, according to Soto
(2004) when comparing an annual series and a partial one for 24 years of record, the difference is only 2.3%.
the first one being older.

Figure No.2 Rainfall Chart

 Source: INSIVUMEH 2012
ADJUSTMENT OF DATA TO A PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION
Considering that in a particular year a series of events with values can occur
different rainfall intensities, the maximum values of that year must be selected, from the above is
It is possible to obtain a multi-year summary of maximum rainfall intensities for each climate station, Al.
Multiannual summary, it is necessary to apply a frequency analysis and for this, the use of a
probability distribution function and apply statistical techniques.

Although there are various theoretical probability distribution functions such as the binomial distribution,
Gumbel, Poisson, normal, chi-squared, and gamma distributions were applied in this study.
normal like the Gumbel distribution, as both functions are applicable to events
meteorological. However, the Gumbel distribution function or type 1 has been used in the
study of meteorological events of maximum values, obtaining very precise adjustments for values
daily and annual highs. In addition, specialized literature on the subject notes that the application of this
The distribution function in studies that consider extreme value events turns out to be the most
suitable for representing maximum events.
 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

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intensity duration and frequency (idf) curves in the Salinas river basin. (P. 45) Retrieved
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Espíldora, B. 1971. Estimation of intensity-duration-frequency curves by

generalized coefficients. Proceedings of the I National Colloquium of the Chilean Society
Hydraulic Engineering. Chile. 274 p, Retrieved on April 9, 2020.

Pizarro, T; Flores, J; Sanguesa, C; Martínez, E. (n.d.). Intensity-Duration Curves and

Frequency. Retrieved on April 9, 2020, Available at:
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