Abstract:
Mountain regions worldwide present a pronounced spatiotemporal precipitation variability, which added to scarce monitoring
networks limits our understanding of the generation processes involved. To improve our understanding of clouds and precipitation
dynamics and cross-scale generation processes in mountain regions, we analyzed spatiotemporal rainfall patterns using satellite
cloud products (SCP) in the Paute basin (900–4200m a.s.l. and 6481 km2) in the Andes of Ecuador. Precipitation models, using
SCP and GIS data, reveal the spatial extension of three regimes: a three-modal (TM) regime present across the basin, a bimodal
(BM) regime, along sheltered valleys, and a unimodal (UM) regime at windward slopes of the eastern cordillera. Subsequently, the
spatiotemporal analysis using synoptic information shows that the dry season of the BM regime during boreal summer is caused
by strong subsidence inhibiting convective clouds formation.Meanwhile, in UMregions, low advective shallow cap clouds mainly
cause precipitation, influenced by water vapor from the Amazon and enhanced easterlies during boreal summer. TM regions are
transition zones fromUMto BMand zones on the windward slopes of the western cordillera. These results highlight the suitability
of satellite and GIS data-driven statistical models to study spatiotemporal rainfall seasonality and generation processes in complex
terrain, as the Andes.
