Climatic subdivisions in saudi arabia: An application of principal component analysis

✍ Scribed by Al-Jerash, Mohammad A.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1985
• Weight: 896 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 2314-6214
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.3370050307

✦ Synopsis

Two computer programs were executed on the available climatic data of fifty stations dispersed throughout Saudia Arabia. The first was a program for calculating the variables that represent potential evapotranspiration, soil moisture content and actual evapotranspiration. The aim of this step was to broaden the base of analysis whereby the processing of twenty-four climatic variables becomes possible. The second was a principal component analysis program. The application of this program was carried out in two stages. First, on the twenty-four climatic variables. This has led to the identification of five climatic components as being the principal factors that control the spatial variations of the climate in Saudi Arabia. Secondly, on the scaled distance matrix that was originally calculated using the station scores of the five components. This resulted in grouping the fifty climatic stations into six categories each of which represents a distinct spatial climatic subdivision of the country.

KEY WORDS Climatic subdivisions Principal components analysis Climatic variables Climatic components Saudi Arabia