Rainfall erosivity in Cape Verde

This payer presents rainfall erosivity values derived from a 7-year rainfal l recording in the Cape Verde islands, Central East Atlantic. The data set consisted of 63 storm events, continuously registered in 15-min intervals. Kinetic energy of storm rainfall corresponded to established values in othe r tropical locations. Two algorithms to estimate erosivity, expressed as en ergy times intensity, using daily rainfall or storm depth and duration as p redictor variables are derived. Erosivity of design storms for various retu rn frequencies is calculated for some locations in Santiago island. An indi cative range for the annual rainfall erosion R-index is given. Data analysi s further showed the extreme seasonal concentration of precipitation and er osivity at this location, with a very high fraction of total annual erosivi ty contained in the annual maximum 24-h rainfall. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.