Characterizatıon and Temporal Variation Analysis of Precipitation in Mardin Province

Abstract

Climate change caused by the effect of global warming is increasing its impact all over the world day by day and poses serious threats to the ecosystem. With the effect of climate change, there are significant regional differences, especially in the precipitation parameter. Extreme increases and decreases in precipitation cause drought and flood events to occur more frequently. Various precipitation indices are used to examine the effect of climate change on precipitation, which is one of the most important parameters of the hydrological cycle. In this study, the variability of Mardin province precipitation, which is located within the borders of the Euphrates-Tigris Basin, which is one of the twenty-five river basins of Turkey and one of the most important transboundary basins of the Middle East, has been examined. For this purpose, precipitation data of the Mardin meteorological station numbered 17275, operated by the Turkish State Meteorological Service, in the 1941-2020 (80 years) period were used. The characterization of precipitation in Mardin province was evaluated by calculating Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI) and Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI). According to the annual PCI values obtained for the examined period, it was determined that the precipitations in the province of Mardin, which is located in the drier lower part of the basin, generally have an irregular and strong irregular distribution. According to the RAI values obtained for the 80-year period, there is a rainy period in 30 years (37.5%), a dry period in 35 years (43.75%), and a near-normal period in 15 years (18.75%). Dry periods were observed more frequently in the last 30 years of the examined period.