This paper aims to determine and analyze the main climatological patterns of the precipitation over the Eastern Amazon, and associate them with the weather systems operating in the region, based on monthly rainfall at 128 meteorological stations for the period 1980-2009. The methods of Principal Components Factor Analysis (PCA) and Ward Hierarchical Grouping were used to determine the main patterns of space-time variability and to identify homogeneous regions of precipitation, respectively. The results obtained by PCA showed the existence of three rainfall patterns or seasons of the climatological rainfall, which explained approximately 92% of the total data variance. The first one, the rainy season, is directly influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the main mechanism generating rainfall in the northern region. The second one, the transition season, is associated with large and mesoscale events, such as ITCZ and Instability Lines. The third and drier season, shows the influence of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone, associated with the frontal system penetration coming from the S/SE of Brazil, as well as systems of local scale. It is suggested that the interannual variations of seasonal rainfall is mainly due to climate variability associated with events of ENSO and the Atlantic Dipole. Four homogeneous regions were identified and characterized according to the seasonal and interannual variability of precipitation over the Eastern Amazon.
Rainfall; Homogeneous Regions; Principal Components
