Changes and trends in total yearly precipitation of the Antalya district, Turkey

Abstract

In this study, long term changes and trends in the annual rainfall of the Antalya Part, which is the region located in the western Mediterranean coast of Turkey containing many agricultural areas in its surrounding, were analysed. The aim of this study was to analyse the long term changes and trends in rainfall totals and present spatial distributions of annual and seasonal rainfall variability over the part. Rainfall data from 7 meteorological stations (Antalya, Alanya, Manavgat, Gazipasa, Finike, Korkuteli and Elmali) covering the years 1970-2011 were used in this study. Prepared rainfall variation maps clearly show that the highest annual variation is Antalya, while the lowest variation is Manavgat. According to the results obtained in trend analysis, in general, while a decreasing trend in winter rainfall is apparent, there is an apparent increasing trend in autumn rainfall. These results show a shift in seasons causing long-term droughts and potential infertile land to emerge. At some stations in the vicinity, there has been a prominent change from humid conditions to semi-arid conditions from beginning of 2000s. This study is expected to contribute to better understanding the effects of global climate change over precipitation in Antalya vicinity. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.