1. A NIMATION OF 5- MINUTE RAINFALL DYNAMICS WITHIN A 4 KM X 4 KM AREA IN WESTERN PUERTO RICO Mariana León Pérez, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Environmental Science Eric Harmsen, Associate Professor Dept. of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez e-mail: eharmsen@uprm.edueharmsen@uprm.edu

2. O BJECTIVES To install twelve rain gauges in a small watershed in Sector Miradero, Mayaguez, PR. The data will be collected every two weeks and will be combined with the other sixteen gauges. The final objective is to create animations of five storms using Surfer 8 that will help us understand the behavior of rain events in the area. In the future, a flow gauge will be install to create a run-off model. The data of the rain gauges will be used to compare the model with the actual data.

3. S TUDY AREA

4. S TUDY AREA – PROPOSED RAIN GAUGE LOCATIONS

5. E QUIPMENT Watchdog PluviometerWatchdog Shuttle

6. I NSTALLING THE RAIN GAUGES

7. S TUDY AREA – FINAL RAIN GAUGE LOCATIONS

8. E XAMPLE RAINFALL ANIMATION FROM ORIGINAL 16 RAIN GAUGES ( DATA FROM NEW GAUGES ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE ) A UGUST 18, 2006

10. 12:58 pm

11. 1:03 pm

12. 1:08 pm

13. 1:13 pm

14. 1:18 pm

15. 1:23 pm

16. 1:28 pm

17. 1:33 pm

18. 1:38 pm

19. 1:43 pm

20. 1:48 pm

21. 1:53 pm

22. 1:58 pm

23. 2:03 pm

24. 2:08 pm

25. 2:13 pm

26. 2:18 pm

27. 2:23 pm

28. 2:28 pm

29. 2:32 pm

30. 2:38 pm

31. 2:43 pm

32. 2:48 pm

33. 2:53 pm

34. 2:58 pm

35. 3:03 pm

36. 3:08 pm

37. 3:13 pm

38. 3:18 pm

39. 3:23 pm

40. 3:28 pm

41. 3:33 pm

42. 3:38 pm

43. 3:43 pm

44. 3:48 pm

45. 3:53 pm

46. 3:58 pm

47. 4:03 pm

48. 4:08 pm

50. RAINFALL ANIMATION FROM ORIGINAL 16 RAIN GAUGES AND THE 12 NEW GAUGES J UNE 27, 2007

51. 12:37 pm

52. 12:42 pm

53. 12:47 pm

54. 12:52 pm

55. 12:57 pm

56. 1:02 pm

57. 1:07 pm

58. 1:12 pm

59. 1:17 pm

60. 1:22 pm

61. 1:27 pm

62. 1:32 pm

63. 1:37 pm

64. 1:42 pm

65. 1:47 pm

66. 1:52 pm

67. 1:57 pm

68. 2:02 pm

69. 2:07 pm

70. 2:12 pm

71. 2:17 pm

72. 2:22 pm

73. 2:27 pm

74. 2:32 pm

75. 2:37 pm

76. 2:42 pm

77. 2:47 pm

78. 2:52 pm

79. 2:57 pm

80. 3:02 pm

81. 3:07 pm

82. 3:12 pm

83. 3:17 pm

84. 3:22 pm

85. 3:27 pm

86. 3:32 pm

87. 3:37 pm

88. 3:42 pm

89. 3:47 pm

90. 3:52 pm

91. 3:57 pm

92. 4:02 pm

93. 4:07 pm

94. 4:12 pm

95. 4:17 pm

96. 4:22 pm

97. 4:27 pm

98. 4:32 pm

99. 4:37 pm

100. 4:42 pm

101. 4:47 pm

102. 4:52 pm

103. 4:57 pm

104. 5:02 pm

105. 5:07 pm

106. 5:12 pm

107. 5:17 pm

108. 5:22 pm

109. 5:27 pm

110. 5:32 pm

111. 5:37 pm

112. 5:42 pm

113. 5:47 pm

114. 5:52 pm

115. 5:57 pm

116. 6:02 pm

117. 6:07 pm

118. 6:12 pm

119. 6:17 pm

120. 6:22 pm

121. 6:27 pm

123. C ONCLUSION

124. It required 30 minutes for the storm to cover the entire study area. The tendency of the storm was to move from south east to south west, with higher intensities in the southern half of the study area through the duration of the storm. The storm moved at approximately 15 Km/Hr.

125. F UTURE WORKS Create an animation of the storm on June 27, 2007 using the data from all 28 rain gauges. This was an excellent storm totaling 55 mm. Install a flow gauge in the watershed to create a run-off model.

126. Q UESTIONS ?