IMPROVED FITTING OF THE BARTLETT-LEWIS RECTANGULAR PULSE MODEL FOR HOURLY RAINFALL

This paper examines the applicability of the Bartlett-Lewis Rectangula r Pulse Model to rainfall taken from a site in Elmdon, Birmingham, UK. The approach used is to assess the performance of the model in terms of characteristics of the precipitation process, incorporating monthly seasonality. Analytical expressions are derived to complement those p resented in Rodriguez-Iturbe et al. (1987). As in that paper, the shor tcomings of the simple Poisson process are reduced by the use of a Bar tlett-Lewis process. Different methods of parameter estimation are exa mined. The characteristic features of the time distribution of rainfal l events, however, can be well approximated only by optimization and t his enables an improved identification of the model parameters.