A Python framework that implements the Linear Theory of Orographic Precipitation following Smith & Barstad (2004).
The model includes airflow dynamics, condensed water advection, and downslope evaporation. It consists of two vertically-integrated steady-state advection equations describing: (i) the cloud water density and (ii) the hydrometeor density. Solving these equations using Fourier transform techniques, derives a single formula relating terrain and precipitation.
Please refer to the original manuscript of Smith & Barstad (2004) to understand the model physics and limitations.
Required dependencies:
- Python 3.9 or later
- numpy
Optional dependencies (required for fastscape extension):
To install the package simply go to terminal and use pip to install the latest version from our GitHub repository:
pip install git+https://github.com/fastscape-lem/orographic-precipitation.gitSome examples are shown in the notebooks folder (Jupyter Notebooks).
This project is supported by the Earth Surface Process Modelling group of the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany.