Spatial precipitation assessment with elevation by using point cumulative semivariogram technique

Depiction of precipitation change by elevation in an area indicates the possibilities of orographic rainfall occurrences in the mountainous regions. In general, precipitation increases with elevation but sometimes inverse cases occur locally due to orographic and meteorological features of the area. In practice, prior to any quantitative modeling, qualitative assessments and interpretations help to have sound foundations in search for a suitable model. In this article, standardized point cumulative semivariogram (SPCSV) methodology is employed for identification of the precipitation-elevation relationship. According to relative positions of the precipitation and elevation SPCSVs four different precipitation categories are suggested. The application of the methodology proposed is presented for the precipitation records from Yucca Mountain, Nevada, U.S.A.