Dbclim: A web-based, open-source relational database for rainfall event studies

Rainfall is a climatic parameter of great importance and complexity. The pluviometric parameters ordinarily taken for meteo-hydrologic study are rainfall total and maxima (annual, seasonal or monthly), maximum rainfall over several consecutive days (by definition usually 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days), rainfall during brief but intense rainstorms, and peak rainfall within temporal units (minutes, hours, days). Values of absolute extremes, such as the highest 5-day precipitation amount in a year, can often be related to extreme events that affect human society and the natural environment. Moreover, the data of some of these parameters may be derived from various different rain events and an event can last more than 5 consecutive days. An innovative tool for RE study developed by the Research Institute for Geo-hydrological Protection of the National Research Council (CNR-IRPI) is a specific web-based relational database called Dbclim. With the Dbclim, RE data can be easily accessed and extracted from a long-term daily rainfall time series. The key features of Dbclim and its architecture are outlined below.