Nonstationarity in Intermittent Rainfall: The “Dry Drift"

A particular aspect of the nonstationary nature of intermittent rainfall is investigated. It manifests itself in the fact that the average rain rate varies with the distance to the surrounding dry areas. The authors call this fundamental link between the rainfall intensity and the rainfall occurrence process the “dry drift.” Using high-resolution radar rain-rate maps and disdrometer data, they show how the dry drift affects the structure and the variability of intermittent rainfall fields. They provide a rigorous geostatistical framework to describe it and propose an extension of the concept to more general quantities like the (rain)drop size distribution.