<b>Lacunarity analysis of daily rainfall data in Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

Here we report a study of the temporal variation in daily rainfall recorded at meteorological stations in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil using the method of lacunarity to evaluate dry spell distribution. Results indicate coastal region rainfall has lower lacunarity and shows a more homogeneous behaviour with respect to dry spell duration. In the semiarid and dry regions rainfall series demonstrate higher lacunarity, indicating more complex behaviour and greater variation in dry spell duration. We show that clustering based on calculated lacunarity values can be used to identify geographical regions with characteristic temporal variability in rainfall pattern. For Pernambuco, three distinct spatial patterns were identified: one in the Zona de Mata, another in southern Agreste and Sertão Pernambucano, and third in Sertão São Francisco and the northern part of Agreste.